By Lara Takenaga

Contributing writer

Evanston community members and staff from the Block Museum of Art came together last month to initiate the first phase of a new grade-school science program.

“From Ants to the Ocean” is a collaborative effort between the Block Museum; School Age Child Care Program, a before- and after-school care program within Evanston/Skokie School District 65; and the Ladd Arboretum and Ecology Center in Evanston.

“It’s a good enrichment program that allows kids with a strong interest in nature and science to actually get a different perspective outside the classroom,” said Steven Frost, an assistant coordinator of D65’s child care program.

The program began with the idea of exposing students from less-privileged backgrounds to nature and science through hands-on forms of learning.

“It’s looking at nature and science through an accessible art form like film rather than hearing someone lecturing at you or talking to you,” Communication senior Jamie Dobie said.

Dobie helps run the program through her involvement as the president of the Film and Projection Society. According to the original proposal, half of the children enrolled in the child care program come from low-income homes and have very little direct access to cultural and art-based learning experiences. In addition to expanding their knowledge outside the classroom, the students also have a chance to experience Northwestern.

“I think it’s so great that they’re getting the opportunity to be on a college campus,” Dobie said, “so they have this image in their minds, and they have something they are working towards.”

After receiving a grant from the Evanston Community Foundation, the program was given funds for a three-part nature series this school year. Fifty students in grades three, four and five with an interest in science were invited to take part in the series.

Each phase includes a film related to a specific theme and a hands-on activity organized by the Ladd Arboretum. Last month, the theme was bugs. Students watched part of the documentary “Life in the Undergrowth” at Block Cinema. After the film, the kids had the opportunity to touch bugs at an insect petting zoo, and then participated in outdoor activities to learn more about local insect life.

The next two phases during Winter and Spring Quarters will be about outer space and oceans.

“I’m a little biased, but I think exposing children to film at a young age is so important,” Dobie said. “It’s a unique way for children to learn.”

While the grant only covers the expenses for this year’s “From Ants to the Ocean,” the program’s organizers hope to make it an ongoing opportunity for students.

“If this sparks a little bit of (the students’) initiative to explore things on their own, then I’ll be very happy with the success of the program,” said Will Schmenner, the film curator and director of Block Cinema. “I hope they learn that they can find out about these things on their own, and that learning on your own is exciting.”

Reach Lara Takenaga at [email protected].