For this project we were tasked with creating an art piece that could be displayed on the new STEM Building that is currently under construction. Our group wanted to exemplify the main feelings or emotions that are expressed by a STEM student. We decided to make a multi-layer Plexiglas art piece with four panels, each showing a different emotion or feeling in their chemical form. The piece, titled "Reactions of the Mind" focuses on these four panels. The first was Melatonin, for sleep, a vital act for a STEM student to stay energized and revitalized. The next was Adrenaline, which represents anger, which a STEM student must control to stay successful. Next comes dopamine, which is associated with habitual behavior, and STEM students need good habits to remain at peak performance. The final one is serotonin, the chemical associated with love. Serotonin is on this because we waned to express how much we love STEM.
Content
Concepts
Oxidation Reaction: A process where electrons are removed from a substance. Reduction Reaction: A process where electrons are added to a substance. It is called reduction because it refers to the reduction of charge with the insertion of electrons. Single-Replacement Reaction: When an element is swapped with another element from a compound to form two new substances. Double-Replacement Reaction: When an element from one compound is swapped with an element from another compound to create two new compounds. Combustion Reaction: An exothermic redox reaction generated by a fuel and an oxidant and where a substance is oxidized. Synthesis Reaction: A process where two substances come together to create one new substance. Cation: A positively charged ion. Anion: A negatively charged ion. Endocrine System: A collection of glands in the human body that use hormones to regulate a variety of bodily functions such as metabolism and homeostasis. Melatonin: A hormone that regulates sleep. When it's excreted, it prompts the individual to sleep. When it's inhibited, the individual remains awake. Serotonin: A chemical produced by nerve endings that generate feelings of happiness. Adrenaline: A chemical produced by the adrenal glands that activates the fight or flight response. Dopamine: A chemical that inhibits pains.
Conclusion
This project was definitely one of the best I have participated in this year. It was super fun to be creative and see that creativity come to life in an art piece. We definitely came together as a group and created something awesome. A peak was when I created the sea-foam green because it was its own unique color and it was cool to see that come to life. Another peak was seeing how the layered Plexiglas created an extra layer of depth to the piece One pit would be how the piece came out a little sloppy because the paints were not perfect and didn't layer well on the Plexiglas which caused it to look a little weird. Another pit was how some paints didn't turn out the as the colors we wished them to be which made it hard to create what we ultimately wanted to create. We also forgot to take pictures of the piece so we cant show what it looks like unfortunately. All in all however, I believe that the piece came out awesome and it was a super fun project.