Whether taking macrophotographs of wood grain with a smartphone microscope or analyzing a dye bath with a water quality test kit, the new MUSE system will allow students to gain practical and hands-on experience investigating, experimenting, and evaluating hypotheses, skills that are traditionally seen as the purview of science but that are fundamentally important to art and design practice. Additionally, many majors need specific scientific methods, content, or context to be successful, especially in a curriculum and wider world increasingly focused on pressing issues of sustainability, environmental issues, and climate change.

 

The MUSE allows CCA students improved experiences in their required and elective science courses and novel applications of scientific theory and practice in their studio classes. The NSF grant funded the purchase of science equipment, materials, and collections for CCA faculty and student use, to be housed in the new MUSE system. Notable acquisitions include a robust rock and fossil collection, smartphone microscopes, a 3D printer, environmental monitoring equipment (including water quality, air quality, and soil composition), a digital weather station, and a stream table.