We present herein a module of pigment synthesis experiments that could be adapted and implemented in a variety of curricular settings. At the conclusion of each of the past two spring terms at our high school, we offered a 4 day short course on the chemical synthesis of pigments used in art. As part of the course, our students synthesized four pigments in the chemistry laboratory: Egyptian blue, madder lake (red), cobalt green, and cobalt yellow. These particular pigments were selected for several reasons: (1) they are historically significant in art and archeology (their usage spans from antiquity into the 20th century), (2) they provide for a variety in the chemical reaction types explored and the chemical synthesis methods utilized, (3) they are relatively safe for students to handle, and (4) they afford a diverse color palette upon mixing. Our students then combined their pigments with gum arabic as a binder to make gouache watercolor paints and create a painting. In the second iteration of the short course, students also collected gravimetric data during their pigment synthesis reactions and were introduced to photoluminescence imaging of paints made from Egyptian blue and madder lake pigments synthesized the prior year. We also explored the quantitative colorimetry of the paints via fiber-optic reflectance spectroscopy. On the basis of positive student feedback from our short course and on our research into similar curricular offerings at the college and university level, we are actively working to expand and broaden the material into a new, year-long, interdisciplinary elective course for our upper-level high school students that describes the application of chemistry and materials science principles to enhance our understanding and appreciation of art and archeology.

The Thacher School has a rich legacy of education and research in astronomy that dates back over a century to correspondence in 1906 between our founder, Sherman Thacher, and the Director of the Mt. Wilson Observatory, George Hale. Nobel prize winning physicist Robert Millikan served on the School's Board of Trustees and conducted cosmic ray measurements on our campus in 1928. From 1930 to 1941 students and faculty from the School took annual trips to Pasadena to see the 100-inch Hooker telescope at Mt. Wilson and tour the Huntington Library and Caltech. Edwin Hubble gave the commencement address on our campus in 1942 and aluminized the mirror of an 8-inch telescope at the request of one of our students 10 years later. The Summer Science Program (SSP), which brought together some of the nation's brightest math and science students to participate in an intensive, 6-week immersion in astronomy, operated on our campus for 40 years starting in 1959. A 24-inch astrograph built by Caltech was installed in an observatory building erected on our campus by UCLA in 1965 and was later used for preliminary testing of the UCSD Digicon spectrographs that were eventually installed on the Hubble Space Telescope. In 1999 the School ceased its affiliation with the SSP and the program relocated, leaving behind an empty observatory building. With the recent renovation of our observatory, including the installation of a fully automated 0.7 m telescope and a cooled, back-illuminated CCD camera, the School has recaptured its rich historical legacy and renewed its commitment to student education and research in astronomy.

In place of a traditional Advanced Placement Chemistry class at the high school where I teach, I have recently developed and implemented a year-long, interdisciplinary curriculum that presents typical inorganic chemistry topics in the context of their relevant applications in archeology, art history, studio art, and the investigation, authentication, restoration, and conservation of cultural heritage materials. One of the units in the new course explores the chemistry of pottery and includes curricular materials presented in three lessons and described here: (1) an introductory slideshow and a problem set that has students complete general stoichiometric and gas law calculations and examine SiO 2 specific gravity data, refractive index data, and phase diagrams related to chemical reactions that dehydrate kaolinite clay and temperature changes that produce SiO 2 phase transformations during firing, (2) a laboratory exercise that has students create their own pinch pots and coil pots and measure mass changes resulting from water lost during drying and bisque firing, and (3) a slideshow, web-based video resources, and case study that allow students to explore in detail the technically sophisticated, 3stage (oxidizing−reducing−oxidizing, hereafter "ORO") firing process that was used to create aesthetically elegant, Athenian blackand red-figure vases starting in the sixth century BCE, and to conduct thermodynamic calculations to verify the plausibility of several dehydration and redox reactions that are thought to have produced characteristically colored minerals that have been observed both in ancient pots and in modern reproductions. These curricular materials represent a novel way to stimulate and engage students in the application of their chemistry skills and content knowledge in an interdisciplinary context and are suitable for use by teachers of general chemistry or interdisciplinary science and art classes in high schools, colleges, and universities.

No abstract

Located on the campus of the Thacher School in Southern California, the Thacher Observatory has a legacy of astronomy research and education that dates back to the late 1950s. In 2016, the observatory was fully renovated with upgrades including a new 0.7 m telescope, a research grade camera, and a slit dome with full automation capabilities. The low-elevation site is bordered by the Los Padres National Forest and therefore affords dark to very dark skies allowing for accurate and precise photometric observations. We present a characterization of the site including sky brightness, weather, and seeing, and we demonstrate the on-sky performance of the facility. Our primary research programs are based around our multi-band photometric capabilities and include photometric monitoring of variable sources, a nearby supernova search and followup program, a quick response transient followup effort, and exoplanet and eclipsing binary light curves. Select results from these programs are included in this work which highlight the broad range of science available to an automated observatory with a moderately sized telescope.