Engineering adventure: A journey between earth and the moon

How does your artwork depict the contribution of engineers to a better world?

My artwork shows how engineers make a better world by expanding human knowledge through space exploration, and how they developed technologies that improve it. My artwork shows how aerospace engineers wanted to see the stars, but they also wanted to observe Earth from above. They learned a lot about our climate and how it changes, helping us predict changes that may occur on Earth. In addition, they created technology such as GPS (Global Positioning System), which helps us create accurate maps and helps us navigate from one location to another. Some of this technology is also used in medicine to observe and analyze how diseases spread, so we can take better care of one another.

Describe how you think viewers from at least two different audiences might view or interpret your work.

Children will be amazed because I used different and colorful materials. They will look at the painting and imagine an adventure, a rocket traveling into space, with ways to communicate with Earth and carrying equipment to stay safe, like medicines, and comfortable, like cozy chairs. Adults can focus on the technology and think about how humans have progressed and what inventions have made that progress possible. They can see the Wi-Fi symbol and appreciate how easy communication is now, notice the medicines, and recognize how much healthier we are today. They can also understand that without all the technology surrounding the spaceship, traveling to the moon would not have been possible.

Briefly describe the materials you used and the process you went through to create your piece.

I used paint, marble dust, and moldable clay. I started my artwork by first using moldable clay to make the cellphone, the Wi-Fi symbol, the chairs, the sun, and the plants. Then I used marble dust to create the texture of the continents and the moon. Finally, I used colored paint for the decorations.

Explain anything you learned from the process. Ideally include any failures you experienced along the way. Failure and subsequent improvement are critical to engineering design, so please tell us how you failed, how you dealt with it, and how that influenced your submission.

During this process, I experienced several failures that helped me learn and improve my work. One of the main challenges was that the moldable clay dried too quickly, causing many of my sculptures to break. Because of this, I had to remake them several times, which took patience and perseverance. With my mom’s help, I learned to use small drops of water to keep the clay fresh for longer, allowing me to work with it properly until I reached my final design. At the beginning, I also struggled because I did not have enough ideas. Once again, talking with my mom helped, and together we came up with new and creative ideas. Through this experience, I learned that failure is an important part of the engineering design process. In the end, I felt like an engineer because I solved problems by finding solutions. I had a lot of fun creating my project, and I am proud of my final result.