Invertebrate art program

Learning activities

Students go on a bushwalk and conduct a hands-on investigation by collecting invertebrates in the Field of Mars gardens to observe their features and their environment. Inspired by invertebrates students make artworks using watercolour pencils, monochrome scratch art and observational drawings culminating in the creation of an eye-catching painted canvas of an invertebrate to take home.  

Inquiry questions:

• What types of invertebrates are found in the Field of Mars Reserve and what are their structural features?
• Why are some structural and behavioural features of living things considered adaptations?
• How can we represent the details of living things in artworks?

Fieldwork

Bushwalk

The focus of the bushwalk is for students to observe the different places in the natural environment in which invertebrates can be found. The bushwalk will traverse a variety of environments from the moist vegetation found along the creeks to the dry woodland along the slopes of the reserve. 

Many invertebrate species will remain hidden during the walk so particular emphasis will be placed on looking for animal evidence such as tracks and sounds. 

The needs of invertebrates in their environment, their adaptations and the important role of invertebrates in bushland will be emphasised. Students will undertake a variety of sensory activities and create artworks inspired by the interconnections between invertebrates and their environment. 

Invertebrate hunt

The focus of this session is for students to work cooperatively to conduct an investigation, using simple equipment, to explore and answer the question: What invertebrates live in bushland? 

Students will work in small groups to search for and collect leaf litter invertebrates in the gardens around the education centre. Collected specimens will then be examined using magnifiers.

Invertebrate art

Students examine the features of one or two chosen invertebrates using a range of magnifying equipment, paying particular attention to detail including numbers of legs, sections of the body, colour, shape, structure, texture and patterns found on the invertebrate. 

After careful observation and study of an invertebrate students will create an artwork on canvas. This will involve the use of a variety of media including rollers, pencil, brushes and paint. Upon completion the canvases will be displayed for a short exhibition in the afternoon allowing students to appreciate and evaluate their work.