Program Showcases Science Through Visual Arts, Benefits STEAM Education in Kansas City
Science2Art is a platform hosted by BioNexus KC for regional scientists to display and describe their research through the visual arts. Each of the pieces submitted for this year’s event tell a personal research story, capturing the fieldwork performed by the scientists and their teams. These images were submitted by scientists from across the region, with all proceeds from the auction of these pieces donated to STEAM education in Kansas City. Three MRIGlobal researchers contributed images and descriptions of their work this year, highlighting the artistic nature of our science.
CONTAMINATION EVENT by Kristen Solocinski
This image depicts cells growing in dishes. Sometimes there is growth of unwanted visitors, in this case, mold. Mold can ruin an experience by sucking up nutrients needed for cells, but it also has a complicated beauty of the mycelial network. This image was taken during a study of viruses and viral diseases.
salt of the earth by Mckenzie summerfield
This is a scanning electron microscopic image of a metal salt to identify impurities. Researchers periodically perform elemental analysis using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) to identify the elemental impurities in the compound. This image was taken during one of those analyses.
Of her submission, Summerfield says, “This is the third piece of mine that has been selected to be a part of the Science2Art program, so I’ve been familiar with BioNexus KC’s annual event for quite some time. I was in the first group of employees to be trained on the scanning electron microscope (SEM) that MRIGlobal purchased back in 2018. When the call for Science2Art auction submissions came in mid-2019, I jumped on it to use it as a platform to let the community know that we have this new capability. With proceeds going to STEAM education, it was really a win-win situation. Now whenever I’m working on the SEM, I always have the Science2Art program in the back of my mind. This particular image stuck out to me while I was working on this project because of all the different textures that were in the very small area of this sample.”
the duck is real by Alec jorns
The image is of an oil-water emulsion with multi-color droplets made using a microfluidic chip. The microfluidic system is being used to advance technology in genomics, chemistry, and medicine.
Since 2014, BioNexus KC and the Science2Art program has donated over $120,000 to STEAM programs in our region. To learn more about the program, view each of this year’s pieces, and even bid on them in a silent auction through Aug. 24, visit BioNexus KC.
Getting started with mriglobal
Science2Art is just one of many ways we support the communities in which we work. We were also proud to serve as the presenting platinum sponsor of this year’s Greater KC Science and Engineering Fair, and last year supported Kansas City’s Operation Breakthrough as it launched their Ignition Lab, their new STEM education initiative.
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