Who lives a life worthy of remembering?

This term in art, middle school students are reflecting on memorials. 

• Who is worthy of a memorial? 
• How does the design of a memorial represent the subject? 
• Does the designer use symbolism in the memorial?

In pairs, students researched and created a presentation about a memorial. We heard about memorials near and far, including to Alexander Hamilton in Weehawken, World War II in Washington D.C. and the dog Hachiko in Tokyo, Japan.

Dr. Seuss Memorial Garden, MA

As we continued in the project, students chose a subject for the memorial they design. The students made a list of reasons why a person should be remembered; for changing culture, making a difference globally or locally, being the first, the best, being brave, inventing, discovering, leading, being sacrificial.

Guglielmo Marconi Memorial, Hoboken, NJ

Here are the names of some of the people chosen by the students:

Althea Gibson, Naitō Toyomasa, Carrie Fisher, Joan of Arc, Audrey Hepburn, James Naismith, Jackie Robinson, William Higinbotham, Dorothy Vaughan, Eileen Nearne, Aladár Gerevich, Jesse Owens, Coco Chanel, Whitney Houston, Sacagawea, Rosa Parks, Anne Frank, Anna Pavlova, Hedy Lamarr, Roald Dahl, Steve Jobs, Satoru Iwata, Alice Coachman. 

If you notice a significant percentage of women being honored by our students, it's because we are thinking of redressing the imbalance students observed in their memorial research. Perhaps you read a name you didn't recognize and wonder about the accomplishments of that person.  

Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

Students are already imagining designs for their memorial and will go on to build a maquette (small 3D model) in clay.