Discovering Ohio, The Buckeye State
Our first 500 miles on the road have been spent across Ohio, hitting the cities of Columbus, Cleveland, and Toledo.
We managed to visit a full spectrum of schools on the first leg of our trip – consisting of public, private, and charter, all located in densely populated areas. We are eager to see how these visits compare to future visits in smaller towns next week.
Students at Citizens Leadership Academy in Columbus, OH.
Spread across our MVP exhibit are at least 50 photographs all containing stories and details that are easy to miss when there is so much to look at. Enter the added challenge of engaging a young adult born in the age of viewing images predominantly on small screens and it is easy for the bus visit to feel overwhelming.
The three of us have spent several years leading up to this tour exploring the depths of visual culture, creating our own images and designing or producing programs around photography. It only feels natural when working with students to challenge them to spend more than a few seconds on each photograph, using details in one photograph to build on a larger narrative that could inform the rest of the exhibition experience. In short: visual thinking.
One of our most effective prompts we use to get students started with is a simple Where's Waldo style challenge: "Who can find the image that contains a sewing machine or a Mercedes Benz?" While the task appears simple, it offers a constructive starting point in guiding students through the exhibit and gives us an entry point to discuss examples and obstacles to sustainable development as they appear in the photographs.
Ohio was full of engaged students eager to learn about this project and sustainable development in their own communities. We’re excited to visit some smaller schools in rural Wisconsin this week, before we head to Milwaukee!