A group of Evergreen Park Community High School students spent much of their summer turning science into art, creating a colorful mural that will soon become a permanent centerpiece in the school’s science wing.
The student-led project brought together artistic talent and scientific concepts in one collaborative effort, highlighting the school’s emphasis on STEAM education — science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.
The mural features illustrations of Sir Isaac Newton, scientific equations and imagery representing evolution, chemistry, astronomy, biology and physics. Once completed this fall, it will hang alongside other science-themed displays, including the school’s large periodic table of the elements.
For incoming senior Ava Chandler, the project offered a unique way to connect two seemingly different subjects.
“This seems like a cool way to show off the different disciplines of STEAM,” Chandler said. “Science can be easier to digest when it’s presented in an art form like this.”
The mural was designed and painted by Chandler and fellow students Izabella Rodriquez-Acevedo, Jax Olson, Juliana Bosch, Natalia Mosely, Danny Sommerio and Wilbur Smith. The group began meeting weekly in early April and continued working throughout the summer to bring the project to life.
Even after graduating in May, Bosch and Sommerio returned to campus to help finish the artwork.
“Ava came to us last year asking if we wanted to do the project, and we thought it was pretty cool,” Bosch said. “We’ve been working really hard over the summer, and it’s turning out great.”
Art teacher Tom Guerra, a 2011 Evergreen Park Community High School graduate, served as the faculty adviser for the project. The opportunity carried special meaning for him because he helped create one of the school’s first student murals when he was a senior.
“When I was a senior here, I worked on the first mural that was put up in the LRC,” Guerra said. “I remember how that was such an important thing for me and how it helped propel me into the art field. When I learned of the opportunity to mentor a mural project like this, that was really exciting.”
The project received financial support through an educational grant from the EPCHS Foundation. Industrial technology teacher Rob Rymek built the frame that will hold the finished mural.