Embody Art: Anatomy — 2018 Skeleton Program at Bulkeley Middle School in Rhinebeck

In partnership with the Rhinebeck Science Foundation, ENTA artists have recently completed our 2018 Embody Art: Anatomy/Skeleton Program in the 7th grade at Bulkeley Middle School in Rhinebeck with BMS Science Teacher, Chelsey Leahy.

Using recycled materials — newspaper and binder covers — 88 students worked in pairs to create full size skeletons.  Students essentially measured and handled every major bone in the body, labeled the bones and connected them together to create the skeletons and deepen their understanding of the human skeleton.  Throughout the week-long program, the ENTA artists, Mimi Graminski and Martha Tobias, and Ms. Leahy discussed the various functions of the skeletal system — support, movement, protection of internal organs, production of  blood cells and storage and release of minerals and fat — and how the skeleton nourishes and protects the entire body.  The two artists —  with backgrounds in choreography and yoga — led the students through a series of stretches and muscle contractions to observe how bones work with muscles to facilitate movement.

An art display of the skeletons allows the entire school to appreciate the work done and learn more about their own skeletal structure.

Many thanks to the Rhinebeck Science Foundation for funding the program and to the Kingston Daily Freeman for providing the newspapers for 1200 rolls of newspapers used as bones for the program.