Art of Science

This year MYP 3 went to The Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. We went from the 4th of February to the 8th of February and we visited many different places and learned about the diverse culture. Our intentions as a class was to have an educational trip full of bonding with each other and to create everlasting memories. Throughout the trip, we had to do our IDU assignment that was based on two subjects, science and art. The purpose of the IDU was to investigate how the anthropogenic factors affect the biotic community of little Rann of Kutch.

 Our task was to investigate the causes, effects and the solutions to the issue of biodiversity loss in little Rann of Kutch ecosystem. Our final product was to design and exhibit our findings in the form of different collages, photographs and accompanying scientific evidences.

There were 5 groups in total and we had to pick one letter of the biodiversity loss acronym HIPPO. Hippo stands for H = Habitat Destruction, I = Invasive Species, P = Pollution, P = Practices of Agriculture, and O = Overgrazing. For the science part, we had to write an essay or an explanation of the causes that are the factors that lead to the ecosystem issues, the effect of anthropogenic actions including economic, health, social and environmental implications and the suggestion that can solve the issues of Rann of Kutch ecosystem. We also had to make sure the essay should be related to one of the topics that we were given from HIPPO. We had to research the possible and effective solutions that the local community can take action for saving the ecosystem.

With the topic that each group has, we had to create two collages using the subject crossover skills and tools of evidences and facts and creation using artistic imagination. We had to choose a particular artistic statement that can describe our collages. For the collage, we had to describe all living and non-living elements of the ecosystems and show various factors and effects of the ecosystems.

Choosing & Planning the theme for collage (Corinna, Sam, Joon Hee, and Timon)

Our IDU task was to make 2 collages which give people an idea of the pollution in Gujarat.

Our topic is pollution and we used photographs, drawings and objects of our journey to express the pollution in Gujarat. The 2 collages we made are connected to each other, one shows the deforestation and the other shows the air pollution. The reason why one of our collage shows the deforestation is because it is a form of pollution especially air pollution. During the Field trip in Gujarat, we felt that the air quality in Gujarat is worse than Pune. According to the time of India, In the last 365 days, until Wednesday, December 4, in 2018, There were only 8 good air quality days says the latest Indian Institute of Tropical Sciences-system of Air quality and weather forecasting (SAFAR). The air quality of 114 days where whether poor or very poor. From this we have decided to choose air pollution as the main topic for our collages. So that as deforestation causes air pollution, we have chosen to show the situation (cutting down trees, animals losing their habitats, Gases coming out from vehicles etc.). For the 2nd collage, we have shown the consequences of air pollution such as acidic rain, bad air quality, Carbon dioxide, Gases etc… So our collages shows the causes and consequences of the pollution in Gujarat (Ahmedabad) and this is to spread awareness to other people like our teachers, students and staff (Guests, parents etc..) so that they can personally do something actions like reduce the usage of vehicles, not wasting wastes/energy etc.

Product & Exhibition

After we finished working on the collages, we had to write a scientific description of each collage explaining things we saw in Gujarat. We had to use various artistic tools and show expressions using scientific language.

After completing all the works in groups, we had an exhibition where we displayed all of our collages and the scientific explanation that we wrote for each of them. There were MYP students and our parents who came to watch our exhibition. However, before we started to present the exhibition, Mr. Anush Malekar was invited as guest speaker who talked about Gujarat. He is a journalist who has done lots of research and written articles in numerous newspaper and journals in Gujarat based on his observations about the lifestyle, living conditions and practices of rural areas in India. When we had the interactive session, we were given the opportunity to share our experiences and things we liked about our trip. During the discussion we also showed some of the artefacts we got back from Gujarat. The first one was salt. We got the salt when we visited the salt panel during our safari and in the salt factory.

The second one is a bracelet, which we bought from the sellers in our resort. The people who were selling their handicrafts belonged to the Mir and Rabadi Tribe, and it was a great experience to learn more about them and their lifestyle. We really thank our guest speaker (Mr. Malekar), for educating us and giving more insights about Gujarat through his opinion and real life experiences. It was really nice how he backed up all of his information with case studies. After the session, we were given 15 minutes to present our collages to the audience.

Overall, coming up with an IDU and putting up an exhibition really gave us meaning of our trip as well as assignment. This was a great learning opportunity for us to know more about the ecosystems and biodiversity in Gujarat. It also gave us a chance to work with each other in order to come up with effective solutions for the betterment of people in a short amount of time.

Corinna M, YeEun Song & Saumya C (MYP-3A/B)