STUDENT CREATED MURALS AR CAW teams up with Department of Health to promote active design
The active design mural in the multipurpose room at PS/IS 137 in Brooklyn encourages students to create an ever evolving game. Jessie Novick Teaching Artist, 2019.
Physical activity is essential to the healthy development of all students, yet 80% of Americans don’t get enough exercise, according to the CDC. That’s why Creative Art Works teamed up with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to create murals to activate spaces at eight schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, as part of the Active Design in Schools initiative. Active Design seeks to promote physical and mental well-being through a series of architectural and urban design strategies that encourage stair climbing, walking, bicycling, transit use, active recreation, and healthy eating. Third Grade students at PS 86 in Bushwick (above left and below) participated in researching and planning the design of a colorful new mural for their school lunch room. Under the guidance of CAW Teaching Artist Kristy McCarthy, eight students explored ways that space can encourage physical activity – one exercise involved designing a fantasy playground. The final design of the mural includes a variety of colors, shapes, and images that can be incorporated into
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