PLANETARY SCIENCE EDUCATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH AND THROUGH COLLABORATIONS WITH LOCAL ARTISTS

In this presentation, we highlight two successful collaborations with local artists in Knoxville, TN for the purpose of inspiring other scientists to work with artists in their regions. The first project was in collaboration with visual artist Shelagh Leutwiler and resulted in an art exhibit entitled “The Universe of Clay – Understanding Clay through Science and Art”. This exhibit explored whether the production of clay pottery would be possible on Mars. The main educational and outreach focus was on the processes of clay formation on Earth and Mars and how they relate to the clays widely used by ceramic artists in the region. The exhibit was featured in October 2020 during the First Friday event, which is a monthly social gathering in the Knoxville’s art district. The second project has focused on presenting the history of water on Mars using 3D woodcuts, which are created by an environmental educator and artist Scott Rennie. His work involves selecting digital elevation models and processing them into appropriate file formats such as those used in 3D printing. This collaboration relies on the artist's knowledge of various wood types, computer-aided woodcutting, resins, and organic stains. Six wood pieces depicting the history of water on Mars will be presented during Knoxville’s First Friday in January 2023. In summary, these outreach activities have brought geoscience out of the classroom and into the public sphere of an art gallery. In addition, they have inspired and entertained the local community while informing them about the potential of geoscience education and STEM careers.