Purpose
Students investigate how chemical reactions in plaster, pigment, and binders affect the durability, appearance, and preservation of fresco murals, then apply that learning by creating a small fresco painting and a science lab report. They use the essential question—Which chemical properties of pigment, binder, and plaster matter most when designing a mural that will stand the test of time?—to guide experimentation, explanation, and artistic decision-making. Feedback from a city public arts office or neighborhood arts nonprofit helps students connect classroom testing to real community mural standards and material choices for public art. The learning experience culminates in students presenting their fresco, lab findings, and reflection on artist/scientist choices, with work assessed through the New York Performance Assessment Consortium Experimental Science Rubric.
Learning goals
Students will investigate how pigments, binders, and plaster interact in fresco painting and construct evidence-based explanations of the chemical reactions that affect color, adhesion, and durability. They will plan, test, and create a small fresco painting, then write a science lab report and final reflection that analyze their artist/scientist choices using the New York Performance Assessment Consortium Experimental Science Rubric. Students will compare methods for preserving murals, apply safe studio and lab practices, and revise their designs based on feedback from peers and a city arts office or neighborhood arts nonprofit. Throughout the project, they will collaborate to solve materials problems, communicate findings clearly, and make design decisions connected to meaningful public mural contexts.
Products
Students will create a series of material test samples throughout the project, including pigment-plaster trials, annotated observation notes, and proposal sketches that show how chemistry informs artistic decisions. In teams, they will develop a small fresco painting designed around a personally meaningful theme and informed by feedback from a city public arts office or neighborhood arts nonprofit on durability and community mural expectations. Each student will also write a science lab report using the New York Performance Assessment Consortium Experimental Science Rubric to explain the chemical reactions and material choices behind the fresco. The final product set will include the finished fresco, the lab report, and a reflection analyzing their choices as both artist and scientist.
Launch
Begin with a gallery walk of historic and local murals, including images of frescoes that have lasted and ones that have cracked, faded, or peeled, then ask students to notice what materials and environmental conditions might explain the differences. Follow with a quick teacher demo comparing pigments or inks mixed into wet plaster versus a binder on a non-plaster surface so students can observe visible chemical and physical changes and generate questions about what makes a mural durable. Introduce the challenge by sharing that students will create a small fresco painting, write a science lab report and reflection on their artist/scientist choices, and receive feedback from a city arts office or neighborhood arts nonprofit on what materials make sense for long-lasting public art. Close with a student-led question sort around the driving question and a brief preview that their investigation will be assessed using the New York Performance Assessment Consortium Experimental Science Rubric.
Exhibition
Host a “Chemistry of Murals” showcase where students present their small fresco paintings alongside their science lab reports and a brief reflection explaining how their choices of pigment, binder, and plaster affected durability, color, and reaction outcomes. Invite a city public arts office or neighborhood arts nonprofit to serve as reviewers, respond to student mural proposals, and discuss how artists choose materials for long-lasting public art in community spaces. Students can display process boards with test samples, reaction observations, and preservation comparisons so visitors can see both the artistic and scientific thinking behind each piece. End with short student talks or a gallery walk in which peers, families, and community guests use criteria from the New York Performance Assessment Consortium Experimental Science Rubric to offer feedback and celebrate strong evidence-based design choices.
