Art Teacher's Creative Take on "Life in Space" Displayed on International Space Station
Aurora Frontier P-8's art teacher, Thad McCauley, has always dreamed of being an astronaut. And while he has never flown in space, something he created is now orbiting the Earth!
Last year, McCauley learned about a space art contest from a science teacher at his school. The contest accepts entries from students worldwide and the winners get to have their artwork displayed inside the International Space Station.
At first, McCauley was just excited about having his fifth and sixth grade students create entries. Then he saw there was a category for art educators and he also decided to enter.
The contest asked participants to imagine "what it would look like if we lived in space." McCauley created a digital design using the "Procreate" app on his iPad. The piece depicts an astronaut riding a rocket skateboard in space with the light of the sun gleaming off their helmet visor.
McCauley submitted his artwork along with his students' creations and hoped for the best. Recently, he received an email from the contest organizers saying that the winners would be announced on the contest's website.
McCauley said, "I opened the website and saw a picture of my drawing inside the viewing window of the International Space Station with the Earth and stars looming out of the window. An instant sense of joy washed over me and I felt like that seven-year-old kid again who dreamed of being an astronaut. As far as I know, I’m the first art educator to have their artwork displayed inside the International Space Station!"
The printout of McCauley's artwork will eventually be returned to him so he's thrilled to get to keep the reproduction of his drawing that has flown in space. And while none of his students' designs won the contest, McCauley made sure they were proudly displayed in the halls of their school.
Together, he hopes all of the designs will continue to inspire students at Aurora Frontier to literally aim for the stars. He said, "Space is still the next great frontier for humankind and 'Art will not hurt you!', so use that imagination and your creativity to take us further than any artist has ever gone before!"