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Ahnung & Marilou (one of the Therapy Dog Teams that provides Animal Assisted Education at The Lab) are at it again!

Hear more about their work at The Lab on the Radio tomorrow at 1 pm.

Click on the link below to read Ahnung’s blog & to get more radio details!

http://ahnung-northstar.blogspot.com/2010/08/on-radio-pets-as-ambassadors.html

In March and April, five middle school students from the Battle Creek PAS program participated in an exciting and unique Art Residency at The Lab.  The group was facilitated by Tess Pease, social worker, and Geriann, a Social Work graduate student intern at The LAB.   The students were exposed to several art materials and projects, mostly grounded in the art form of printmaking.  For example, one of the projects allowed the students to create their own t-shirt designs.

This Battle Creek Lab Visual Art residency culminated in a field trip to a place called Highpoint Center for Printmaking in Minneapolis.

While students were there, they learned how to mix colors of ink to print collagraphs that they had prepared at The Lab the previous week.  (Collagraphs are a collage of shapes cut out of thick cardboard, glued onto a main board, and rolled with ink to make an image on paper after going through the press). The raised image on the board prints onto the paper after being inked.  The students also learned how to run their own Collagraphs through the printing press, which was a definite highlight for them to actually bring the print to life.

The work of two of the Battle Creek students is currently being shown in the gallery at Highpoint as part of a student show running now until the end of May.  We are very proud of these students, and look forward to a continued partnership with Highpoint next year.

Students shuffle into the Writer’s Lab and file into one of eight, cushioned, office chairs placed around a rectangular conference table. Some greet the co-facilitators in the room and enquire about the group’s activities for the day while others quietly slouch into chairs and wait for the group to begin. One student trickles in after all the rest, plops down in the last available seat and immediately puts his head down on the table.

The group begins.

“Everyone in the circle is equal… No one’s voice is more important than anyone else’s… Everyone in the circle is a teacher… Everyone in the circle is a student… Everyone has his or her turn to speak… When one is speaking, all others listen… The circle is sacred and special.”

Most of the students reference a brightly colored poster hanging in the Writer’s Lab to recite the creed, but some know it by heart.

The guidelines in the group are used to support and encourage students to establish social connections and build community. With these group norms, the Poetry Lab becomes a safe place for students to get over their fears about reading and writing and gain confidence in their literacy. Read more

We want to send a BIG Thank you & shout out to Ahnung, and to our wonderful volunteer, Marilou, for their fundraising efforts.  With their fun effort to get more Facebook Fans for Ahnung, they successfully raised $55.00 for The Lab’s spring poetry & art anthology.  Thanks, too, to all of you who became Ahnung’s Facebook Fan.  You made a difference!  The Lab’s spring poetry & art anthology is off to the printer and has been fully funded with your generosity!

Read more about their successful Facebook campaign here – 

http://ahnung-northstar.blogspot.com/2010/03/help-homeless-animals-and-at-risk-youth.html

Check this out this new clip of Ms. Tina dancing and telling her story at The Lab!

Tina L. Flewellyn is the creator of H.Y.P.E. (Hot Young People’s Entertainment) and artistic director of Arts Us at Duning Recreation Center near Central High School.

Along with a successful career in hip hop dance and choreography that has brought her all over the nation, Tina teaches dance to students at The Lab during the day and after-school at Arts Us in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The video runs about 12 1/2 minutes!

Minneapolis based emcee and beat boxer, Terrell Woods a.k.a. Carnage The Executioner, of Hecatomb Records and Ill Chemistry (with Desdamona), comes to The Lab to perform and talk about his work as a musician.

Check out this video clip of Carnage beat boxing and giving a few lessons on the art form. Read more about Terrell Woods HearItLocal.com!

“Beat boxing is about your body – it’s more about your body than just your mouth…your mouth can’t do anything that your body won’t allow it to do.” - Carnage

Next week, our students at The Lab will be lucky to see shows by spoken word poet, performer and musician, Desdamona — and beatboxer, poet, performer, Carnage the Executioner!

These two performers have been working with us at the Lab for several years, and we are grateful for their inspiration and ability to work with Lab students in our Enrichment program.  They will work with students in writing groups and encourage students to put their own stories into poetry, both for the page, and for the stage.

Geriann, one of The Lab’s MSW Interns, has been working with youth from Hazel Park Middle School in a Mask-making group. Students learn how to make masks in the style of puppet making used by the Minneapolis-based In the Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theatre. Youth have been exploring notions of “creative self-expression, self & identity“ through this creative activity and process.

Jennifer Troy with Paws for Learning has been making a big difference at The Lab.  She and her dogs have been facilitating groups at each Enrichment program, offering youth an opportunity to connect with dogs, and learn many valuable life lessons in the process.  Click the arrow link below to hear Mary Tinucci talk about the impact of Paws for Learning work at The Lab.

Thanks to many donors who have contributed to our recent Donors Choose.org projects, The Lab received several digital cameras and 3 HP Photo printers to use on the iMacs in the Tech Lab.

Now our students are able to participate in a cool Digital Photography unit where they work on a self-portrait project. Students learn from mentors about the camera, photography techniques and styles, and how todigitally manipulate the image using iPhoto.  In this project, they are able to leave the Lab with several 4×6 photo prints of their self-portraits. Students are gaining confidence and practiceusing the technology and developing their creative visionsthrough digital photography.

Check out these cool photos taken by some of our students!

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