Moose moolah

Zany, colorful beasts can still be spotted in a few of their original locations. But besides adding psychedelic style to Coeur d’Alene sidewalks, what have the EXCEL Foundation’s moose sculptures really accomplished?

The art auction fund-raiser brought in $415,000, which allowed for the establishment of an endowment fund for this nonprofit community organization. The principal of the “moose money” hasn’t been touched. Interest from that income and other EXCEL fund-raisers has provided grants for teacher’s projects that are “creative, innovative and beyond the everyday curriculum,” said Heather Bowlby, EXCEL Foundation president.

A committee that includes several former educators selected 30 Coeur d’Alene school district teachers to divvy up more than $28,000 last year. More than $500,000 has been distributed through 475 grants since 1987. Here are a few of the projects from the 2004-05 school year.

Art and Music

In an African drum circle, each person takes a turn beating his own rhythm, then he passes the drum along. One drum among a gang of children sounds like a recipe for disaster, but music teacher Patricia Schug found the opposite was true. She taught the technique to students at Dalton and Hayden Lake elementary schools.

“It’s very calming,” she said. “The kids were very courteous to each other.”

The drum circle was part of a project devised by Schug and Dalton school’s art specialist, JoAnne Wilson, to bring more culture to their classrooms.

“It’s so important,” Wilson said. “We don’t have much multiculture up here.”

With their $1,224 EXCEL grant, Wilson helped kids create instruments that Schug would turn into music. Shakers were crafted out of plastic Easter eggs, rice and tape. Brown shoe polish gave them authenticity. The children studied the regions of Africa where their newly-learned songs originated. They sang “Chee Chee Koolay,” the African version of the children’s song “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.”

Wilson helped them make sculptures of African animals, and Schug bought drums, gong bells and a rain stick, which is a bead-filled tube that sounds like falling raindrops. From this, the children will learn to make their own.

It’s a different way of teaching, believes Schug. Using “multiple intelligence,” the kindergarten-through-fifth-grade students combined art, social studies, language and music.

“It made for a more well-rounded music class,” she said. “I think that it’s very motivational for the kids and motivational for me. It’s exciting because you never know how the class will turn out. No two classes were the same.”

Woodland Aquarium

Science is something students should experience firsthand, believes Woodland Middle School science teacher Beth Wright. So for her students, a tank full of creatures and a 75-gallon aquarium was the method. The students took part in every step of the project. They helped set up the habitat and learned about testing the water.

“They are in charge of taking care of it,” Wright said.

The students learned about the lake, a continent away, where their African cichlid fish originated. The bright yellows and blues of the freshwater fish may change over time. Wright imagines the tank will evolve to satisfy the curiosity of children for years to come. After finishing classwork, her students may sit near the aquarium to watch the swimmers mingle as the plecostomus fish sucks algae from the walls.

“It’s kind of a calming effect for some,” she said.

The $716 in EXCEL money made it easier for Wright to add creativity to her classroom. It’s allowed for new books and the “extras” that can make science more exciting to kids, she said. With so much of education now centered on standardized testing, she appreciates the grants and has obtained several over the past few years from EXCEL.

“They are promoting thinking outside the box,” she said. “This is something I could not have afforded on my own.”

Coeur d’Alene High School Sciences

You can’t see it, but you know it’s there. Radiation is everywhere and Coeur d’Alene science teachers Al Lowande and Brenda Woodward wanted kids to understand it, not fear it. With their $3,727 grant, they purchased 12 new Geiger counters to measure the amounts of radiation in the classroom. Specially designed radiation sources and lead shields were purchased as well. By using the barriers and moving away from a source, students can measure how much protection is needed.

“Most of the world has incredible paranoia about radiation,” Lowande said.

Nuclear radiation and power are part of the high school science curriculum. In the past, teachers relied on books to teach a concept that Lowande finds difficult for even many adults to grasp. The Geiger counters allow students to see that radiation is all around in the environment. They click in response to detection of radioactive particles.

“Kids are fascinated by the background radiation,” Lowande said. “You can hear all these clicks.”

The radiation equipment was shared with Lake City High School science departments. Other Coeur d’Alene High School teachers received EXCEL grants to supply biology classrooms and create a high-tech astronomy class.

Public Art at Sorenson

Anne Couser’s art classes adopted a motto: “Not a moose left behind, but a legacy.” The art teacher used her EXCEL money to help kids create public art that future generations of students can enjoy.

Her classes were involved in sculpting a miniature moose for the EXCEL auction. He was named “Finding Ne-moose” and was painted with fins. The kids still ask about his whereabouts and were thrilled with the opportunity to create more permanent art.

Couser’s $1,500 grant project called for fifth-graders to view public art, visit downtown art galleries, and create lasting pieces to decorate each school. Two pieces were made for Sorensen and Hayden Lake elementary schools, where Couser teaches.

A slab of clay was molded, painted and glazed for the entryway of Sorenson Elementary School. The children came up with the content of the artwork, which includes their worldview of trees, animals and cheerful kids. Local artist Tim Mosgrove provided expertise and equipment to help craft the piece into a giant, jigsaw puzzle, which is mounted to the wall.

For Couser, the project was not just about art appreciation; it was also a lesson in courtesy.

“If kids have a hand in creating public art, then they’re going to respect it and take care of it,” she said. “They’ll think twice about vandalizing. It makes them very aware of what it takes to create a finished piece.”