PIRL
Latin x Innovation
In the weeks between Thanksgiving Break and Winter Break, students in John Rocklin’s Latin classes spent time doing innovative and collaborative projects in The PIRL, St. Stephen's makerspace, alongside Educational Technology Coordinator Nicole Wortham. Each class worked on a different project that reinforced an area of study they had been working on in class.
Students in Latin 1A created videos, similar to the show ‟Engineering Marvels”, that explained how human beings built amazing structures such as the Ancient Pyramids and the Parthenon without sophisticated tools or machinery. The videos were used as a way to spur conversation about the way that the images of these structures reverberate throughout that area in the past and what they mean today.
Latin 1B students used Illustrator to design and our Epilog Laser Cutter to create a scaled replica of a Roman Villa as a way to take a deeper dive into the aspects of vernacular architecture.
Students in Latin 2 learned about the use of 3D scanning and meshes in the preservation and restoration of ancient artifacts and used the data created by those scans to repair statues such as Athena Parthenos and the Great Buddha of Kamakura. The students used these restored artifacts to engage in conversations about critical topics such as repatriation and decolonization.
Latin 1B students used Illustrator to design and our Epilog Laser Cutter to create a scaled replica of a Roman Villa as a way to take a deeper dive into the aspects of vernacular architecture.
Students in Latin 2 learned about the use of 3D scanning and meshes in the preservation and restoration of ancient artifacts and used the data created by those scans to repair statues such as Athena Parthenos and the Great Buddha of Kamakura. The students used these restored artifacts to engage in conversations about critical topics such as repatriation and decolonization.
In Latin 3, students focused on iconic statuary and temples from the ancient Mediterranean, such as The Varvakeion Athena at The National Archaeological Museum of Athens and the Augustus Prima Porta, and restored them to what it would have looked like in antiquity. The class used this work as a springboard for conversations about how White Western Europe misunderstood the concept of color and how the ancient Mediterranean existed at a time before the concept of race emerged.
It was an exciting and busy time in the PIRL with these inaugural projects and we look forward to how the project will grow and change over the coming years.
Address: 6500 St. Stephen's Dr., Austin, TX 78746
Phone: (512) 327-1213
Phone: (512) 327-1213