About the Lab
At Action Potential Lab, we are dedicated to teaching scientific methodologies and concepts through the arts. We explore the intersection of science and art in our classes, workshops, birthday parties, lecture series and various community outreach programs. We work with our students to develop a sense of wonder in the world we inhabit and to cultivate the curiosity and confidence to understand it through experimental creative design projects based in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM). We use a collaborative learning-teaching model and encourage open inquiry. By cultivating students’ sense of wonder in the world, and guiding them through an exploration of it, we create a foundation for scientific thinking that can easily be extended to all facets of life.
Why science + art?
By exploring science through the arts, we open ourselves to new and unique ways of looking at the world and understanding our place in it. Often, deeper scientific knowledge requires a more narrow and focused path for scientific education. This specialization is crucial for scientific advancement, but it can often make us lose sight of the broader goals of research and of the interconnections between different areas of study. Imagination and creativity are essential for discovery and innovation, but in this context they are often only afterthoughts. Not only do artistic processes make use of and elaborate on scientific methods, art can contribute to and enrich our scientific knowledge by shifting perspectives and posing novel questions. We learn more and think more clearly when science and art are taught together. Our laboratory is open to curious people of all ages!
What is 'Action Potential' ?
An action potential describes the rise and fall of electrical potential across the membrane of a cell. This rise and fall creates a cascading depolarization that spreads like a wave across neighbouring cells. Many cells–like the very neurons in your brain helping you read this–have evolved to use these action potentials as a simple form of communication with other cells, both near and far. Add the complexity of one hundred billion neurons joined by one hundred trillion connections and this simple form of communication can perform the calculations needed to land a spacecraft on Mars.
What starts as a tiny electrical spike in a small number of cells can spread far and wide, and ignite one’s curiosity and imagination. At Action Potential Lab, our goal is to be that spark. We believe that children can reach their full potential through exploratory, hands-on STEAM activities that draw together the connections between science and art.
