Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Egyptian Sarcophagi

Materials:
- Water Bottle (one for each student)
- Newspaper Strips
- Paper Mache Goop
- Tempera Paint
- Paintbrushes
- Sharpie Marker
- Egyptian References

Every year our fourth graders go on a music and art field trip to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in the morning and then over to the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery in the afternoon. For most of our kids, this may be the only time they ever go to an orchestra or art gallery, so it's a very special day to share.
Balcony seats at the orchestra!

As a follow up from the museum, I like to ask the kids what they liked, what they didn't like, what they learned, what they found interesting, etc. The one exhibit that always stands out is the Egyptian exhibit, which displays a real sarcophagus, a mummified cat, and some other really neat items.

This is always the perfect anticipatory set to an Egyptian project, of course, and this year I took a stab at making paper mache sarcophagi.

1. Empty out water bottles till they are about 1/3 full. The remaining water helps add weight to the bottles so that they don't constantly tip over.

2. Paper mache a nice, smooth 2 layers over the bottles.

3. Sketch a design before painting.

4. Paint and add heiroglyphics!





3 comments:

  1. You're in Rochester?!! My son is a senior at UR. He's one of the organizers of an amazing event called ArtAwake which takes place on April 16, 2011 3pm-1am. It is an event that showcases music, visual arts, interactive participatory arts, and even food, with community and college students. Their website is currently having some problems, but should be fixed soon (they're on vacation right now). Check them out anyhow here: http://www.artawake.org/
    If you attend ArtAwake, my husband and I will be there! We attended last year and it was awesome - we stayed for hours, listening to various performances, checking out the art, and participating in the interactive installations. I highly recommend it for anyone in the Rochester area. Maybe we'll see you there!

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  2. I'm actually from Buffalo... but I work half way between here and Rochester (oh yes, it's a 40 minute commute- one way!).... so I never heard of ArtAwake but now I'm definitely interested!!! Especially to meet a fellow blogger!!

    This April my husband and I want to go down to DC to see a good friend of his and to just visit... I'm not sure what weekend works best for his friend, but if it's not the 16th, I think there's a huge possibility for this ArtAwake event! I just checked out the website and it looks awesome... Can I ask why the times are so.... odd? (or is it just me..?)

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  3. Hi Hannah, I absolutely love this Egyptian Sarcophagi. What a fabulous idea... We have an Egyptian exhibition visiting Melbourne in April and I would to do this activity with my Year 3/4 students..Fantastic!

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