My meeting today focused on Ochre. I had asked Rachel and Claire how they thought I might be able to bring ochre into the Science classroom. They had some amazing ideas. Rachel warned that the discussion of ochre in terms of traditional stories, uses and ceremony is very sacred and advice must be sought very sensitively. They advised talking more generally in lessons about the traditional use of ochre on a national level, rather than locally. I think that students would be fascinated by the distances travelled to access and trade for red ochre, the most highly valued ochre. Red, shiny ochre was the most highly sought after. People would walk from far north Queensland (as we call it) all the way to South Australia to seek red ochre. Wild tobacco would often be exchanged for the ochre.
Some of the ideas that Rachel and Claire came up with for classroom inquiry into ochre were:
- mixing pigments
- firing yellow pigments to observe colour change
- photographing ochre in different lights and measuring the chroma perhaps by using an app.
- effect of different light filters on the perceived colour of the ochre
- effect on viscosity, cracking or stickiness of the ochre by changing binders (eg. egg, water or milk)
- observing colour before and after grinding the ochre with a mortar and pestle
- observing crystal size and shape before and after grinding the ochre
- comparing crystal size and shape of different pigments
Claire also talked about Spinifex Resin Biopolymer, which is a natural adehesive. Studies have been carried out on the effect different plant processing methods has on the viscosity and adhesive properties of the resin. I think this would definitely be worth researching.
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