Structuring a Plan

20% Time trains students to think differently. It allows students to think more actively, allowing for more innovative and creative ideas because students are working on topics they are actually passionate about. The essential question that I asked is whether or not someone can change their emotions and mentality based on the aesthetics of their environment. for my 20 Time Project, I have decided to create an outdoor art instillation. I want to create something where students, parents, and everyone else in the community can go outside in nature and feel inspired or stress-free from an outdoor interactive art piece. With that being said, would this help someone feel better being immersed in a different environment? Or would they still feel the same based on how stressed they are?

My goal is to create a lasting outdoor instillation that is able to withstand rainy weather and powerful wind. I want it to be something that is physically interactive, something useful to people. Most importantly, I want to create something that people can dive into and enjoy and feel better about their problems.

I will measure the progress of my achievement by how much of the piece I get done every time. So far I was thinking about using umbrellas with light bulbs hanging down from them. With a slight wind, they would make a lovely sounds and hopefully, there will be a bench area where people can listen, watch, and enjoy. 

Clay Brain

My group members and I used different play dough to identify different parts of the brain. As seen in the picture, we differentiated the left and right hemisphere. We then used play dough to identify the different parts within the brain.

Breaking Barriers

I decided to start painting on fire hydrants and I realized that a lot of poeple in this area are freaked out by it. Someone saw me painting near by their house and ran out to see if I was vandalizing their property. I got kicked out multiple times but I kept trying at each house and I ended up doing three. I learned that I don't give up to easily because when each person kicked me out, I would try harder to find a different fire hydrant to paint on.

It's difficult to try to find a new fire hydrant each time because it definitely takes a toll on the efficiency of my project. I think that I should make a different direction and decorate people's personal space for them and paint their walls. I know a family that is willing to let me paint a mural on a blank wall in their garage.

This experience has made me realize how much I loved to help out my community and it also taught me to be fortunate of the beautiful environment I live in.

The Woman with a Hole in Her Brain Article

Today I read the article "The Woman with a Hole in Her Brain." There is a 24 year old woman who lives in the Shandong Province of China who has been living with a major part of her brain gone. Before the article explained the affects of having that part of the brain lost, the article made an emphasis on how the brain is very adaptable. Without that part, it still managed to function. Anyway, she was missing her cerebellum which is also known as the "little brain." The cerebellum controls movement and balance and giving us the ability to communicate orally and physically. This explains why she learned how to walk at the late year of 7 and talked with clear speech at 6 years old.

After reading the article I decided to research what would happen if someone had either a severely damaged or missing transverse fissure. The transverse fissure is a deep groove that is located between the cerebrum and cerebellum. I feel like the brain could probably still function properly without the transverse fissure because it only acts a a divider. As long as the cerebrum and cerebellum (helps with the main functions of our body), are present and functioning properly, with or without a transverse fissure should be okay.

Back on Board

It's been a while since my project but I have been working diligently on a sustainable outdoor instillation. It became a lot harder than I thought because I realized that I had to take the weather into account. I started looking up other artists, such as Robert Indiana and I researched his public art instillations such as his "LOVE" statue, which I have seen in Taiwan, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. So, i was inspired to paint on fire hydrants around the community and it made me realize that I'm actually pretty creative with some of the projects I've done and I should respect and give more credit to some of the ideas I have. Although it was a huge setback to discard my old project with yarn, I feel like I have a very strong hold on my new fire hydrant project. From now, I want to create new designs and think of new simple ways to create an intriguing fire hydrant. I guess the idea behind it is that the law states it is illegal to park within five feet from a fire hydrant. But I think they need friends too. I think this is a quirky idea to support kindness in school and throughout the community. I guess it is also a great idea to go outdoors and look at some art when students or parents get stressed out.

unit 7 reflection

This unit, we learned about muscles and mobility. We started the unit by learning about the different movements different body parts can execute. Afterward, we started to dig deeper on the muscular system. When it comes to labeling and classifying in anatomy, you have to be very exact, which is why we had to memorize various terms that determine the size, shape, and action of a muscle. A way for us to understand the anatomy and physiology different muscles was the chicken dissection lab. We sliced open a chicken and looked at all of the different muscles. We labeled them and saw how they were structured on the chicken.

We also learned the different functions of what happens inside the muscle and my group made a muscle contraction video. Last but not least, we learned about the harms of performance enhancement supplementals. A lot of them such as caffeine, high protein diet, or creatine can either be completely harmful, or safe if used in moderation. My partner and I made an interesting and comical high protein diet ad.

Moving forward, I went to learn different techniques to easily gain muscles in certain area. I want to understand the perfect balance of protein, exercise, and nutrients to have a body with a healthy amount of muscle.

Performance Enhancements Advertisement

Truth is, a lot of performance enhancements cause more harm than good. Although it may seem as if a high protein diet could lead to a person becoming more muscular, it is in fact only a myth. When someone consumes too much protein, a lot of the excess protein ends up causing build up of toxic ketones. This causes dehydration in the body. Also, a high protein diet may seem effective with weight loss at first, eventually, weight loss can become harder to maintain because in the end, it a lot of water weight was lost. In the end, a moderate amount of protein with a healthy amount of exercise is ideal. In the end, all performance enhancements are unsafe if they are not used in moderation. When it comes to our health and wellbeing, balance is key. The question I have left is: What kind of performance enhancement out there is completely safe and effective no matter how vigorously you use it?