Mars Elementary students celebrate Pittsburgh at Steel City Showcase
ADAMS TWP — From pickle pillows and clay pierogies to paper machete zoo animals and incline paintings, Mars Area Elementary School students embraced their inner “Yinzer” with the Steel City Art & Innovation Showcase on Thursday, May 22.
The two-hour event featured thousands of Pittsburgh-themed works of art that filled the hallways, classrooms, library and gymnasium with colorful creativity and hometown pride.
“We kind of just thought that the kids needed to know about Pittsburgh because that’s essentially where they’re from,” said Katie Frye, the school’s art teacher. “It’s actually crazy how much the kids learned from these projects about Pittsburgh. So we just wanted to get them familiar with our town and everything.”
About 950 students in Grades 2 through 4 designed artwork in honor of some of Pittsburgh’s most beloved landmarks, icons and traditions.
Second graders sculpted Eat’n Park cookies out of clay and painted Duquesne Incline landscapes, complete with moving incline cars.
Several classes of second and third graders helped turn the gymnasium into a unique version of the famed Pittsburgh Zoo with a bevy of paper machete animals. Students then snapped photos of their creations and animated them using the OctoStudio coding app to make them more interactive.
In a playful nod to Downtown Pittsburgh’s annual Picklesburgh festival, fourth graders constructed and hand-sewed their own “pickle personality” pillows that each had their own distinctive flair.
Another subset of fourth grade students crafted clay mascots that were modeled after the Pittsburgh Pirates Pierogies racers. Then in their STEAM classes, students used 3D pens to make accessories for their creations.
A lot of those projects were also digital, so parents and community members could scan codes to see the artwork come to life on their digital devices, STEAM teacher Colleen Hinrichsen said.
“They value their work a lot more when they know it’s going to be presented to their families and the community,” she said. “If I just teach them how to make a slot with cardboard, it’s kind of meaningless. But being able to tell them you’re going to build the habitats for your zoo animals or learn how to use a 3D pen, then they’re just going to care about the objects they make more. They all couldn’t wait to bring in their families to show them off.”
The event also included various Pittsburgh-themed interactive exhibits, games and other activities, along with a special appearance from Pittsburgh Steelers’ mascot Steely McBeam.
