Public-Transit Riders Learn About Issue Through Artwork
04/30/2019
Contact: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. – A second-grader is this year’s top winner in UMass Lowell’s annual Cool Science Contest, which teaches K-12 students across Massachusetts about how they can use art to teach the public about climate change.
The competition asks students from around the Commonwealth to create artwork that illustrate important aspects of the science behind climate change. The best of these submissions are displayed in and on Lowell Regional Transit Authority buses, where they educate thousands of passengers and others each day. This year, more than 240 young people participated in the competition.
Lucas Mason, a student at William P. Gorman Fort Banks Elementary School in Winthrop, is this year’s recipient of the UMass Lowell David Lustick Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the contest.
Lucas and other Cool Science winners, their parents and teachers were honored during a ceremony on Friday, April 26 at O’Leary Library Learning Commons on UMass Lowell’s South Campus, where the students’ artwork was displayed in a gallery-style exhibit and inside an LRTA bus parked outside the venue. As Cool Science’s overall winner, Lucas’ entry was emblazoned on the side of the bus.
Presenting Lucas with the award was Jill Lohmeier of Westford, an associate professor of curriculum and instruction in the UMass Lowell College of Education. The honor is named in memory of Lustick, a former Nashua, N.H., resident and UMass Lowell College of Education professor who was a nationally recognized champion of environmental education. Lustick and Lohmeier founded Cool Science in 2013 to study the effectiveness of using artwork on public transit to educate people and stimulate interest in learning more about climate change.
Lohmeier continues this work today with fellow researchers UMass Lowell Art and Design Prof. Stephen Mishol and Prof. Bob Chen, director of UMass Boston’s School for the Environment.
“When we survey bus riders each year, we find they know more about climate change and are more interested in learning about it after seeing the students’ artwork,” Lohmeier said. “Adults can learn a lot from kids and are often more interested in the students’ messages than in lessons from other adults.”
Mishol has been impressed with the quality of artwork he sees in the contest.
“Each year, I am amazed that these young artists continue to find new ways to address the issue of climate change. It’s clear participants have a real connection to this subject. I think the students realize their work can make a positive difference in this issue for the future,” Mishol said.
Contest participants benefit in other ways, according to Chen.
“From my talks with award winners in the past, I’ve learned of many positive impacts, including some students who have found the award to be the highlight of the semester and even helped turn their school year around,” Chen said.
Cool Science research is conducted by the College of Education through the UMass Lowell Center for Program Evaluation, which is managed by Shanna Rose Thompson of Dracut, who holds a doctorate in education from the university. UMass Lowell undergraduate students who helped survey LRTA passengers for the project include history major Sarah McDermott of Billerica and biomedical engineering major Sarnise Compere of Easton. They were joined by graduate students Kimberly Gonzalez, Bangsil Oh and Kathleen Ralls, all of Lowell; Martin Trice of Marblehead; and Jared Dmello of Tyngsborough.
Cool Science’s partners include the LRTA and ATA Outdoor, which donated advertising space on the bus fleet, and Stone Jetty Marketing & Design, which prepared the artwork for display. Cool Science is sponsored by UMass Lowell and its College of Education.
The event honored Lucas as well as first-place finishers and runners-up.
First place went to:
- Reid Mello of Rehoboth, a fourth-grader at Palmer River Elementary School;
- Abigail Goodman of Boston, a sixth-grader at Park Street School;
- Samira Zeina of Roslindale, a sixth-grader at Park Street School;
- McGuire Bettes of Lakeville, a sophomore at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School;
- Ashanti Abreu of Lowell, a junior at Greater Lowell Technical High School.
The runners-up are:
- Gia Ceresani of Winthrop, a second-grader at William P. Gorman Fort Banks Elementary School;
- Lily Brown of Rehoboth, a fourth-grader at Palmer River Elementary School;
- Emma Levesque of Rehoboth, a fourth-grader at Palmer River Elementary School;
- Teagan Yuen of Brighton, a sixth-grader at Park Street School;
- Julia Bae of Brookline, a sixth-grader at The Winsor School;
- Collette Heil of Nahant, a sixth-grader at Johnson School;
- Rin Rezendes of Lakeville, a junior at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School;
- Jack Wilson of Tyngsborough, a junior at Greater Lowell Technical High School.
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