Frankfort Creek Watershed @ Warren G. Harding Middle School - Philadelphia, PA
N 40° 00.755 W 075° 04.460
18T E 493656 N 4429156
Awesome mosaic graces the second floor wall to the rear of the landing @ this NRHP middle school. The mosaic was completed by some of the students and sponsored by NetworkArts.
Waymark Code: WM7XYE
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 12/20/2009
Views: 4
As you come up the marble staircase, the left or right side, just inside the entrance, you will see the mural at the far wall. It goes from one side of the hallway doors to the other. The mosaic highlights various parts of the neighborhood (Frankfort section of Philly). There is a decided aquatic theme to it all with lots of different species of fish to see, set in a representation of Frankfort Creek. A small section of the mosaic features Center City and its towering buildings. The entire mural is designed to be an educational tool focusing on estuaries, watersheds, oceans, rivers and inherent problems with solutions. This is a very cool ecological-biological lesson.
Here is what NetworkArts has to say about its efforts: Harding Middle School - a 35-foot long mosaic illustrating the Frankfort Creek Watershed, the Delaware estuary, and its relationship to the Atlantic Ocean, with emphasis on solutions to contemporary problems. Constructed by the entire student body. In addition to sculptures made by Harding students, it includes shore birds sculpted by visitors to the first Coast Day sponsored by the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, and students and mentors from CIGNA's mentoring program.
NetworkArts was kind enough to come to our school a few years back and engineer this artistic project with our 6th and 7th grade students. They have mosaics in over 60 of our schools now. If you are curious, Networks art as a fantastic website located HERE. To understand why they go to schools and other public places and create these beautiful works of art, one must read their mission statement. So, from their website, here is a plug in the form of a mission statement.:
NetworkArts is dedicated to expanding children's opportunities to express themselves, to explore science, the arts, and the humanities, and to create art that permanently transforms their communities. The multi-faceted educational programs of NetworkArts have transformed the lives of thousands of children and enriched countless communities for over a decade.