The question elicits a few strange looks, and a whole bunch of giggles. “Have you ever eaten a dinosaur?” asks artist and conservation biologist Brandon Ballengée. His audience is a group of elementary and middle school kids gathered for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge’s recent Artsplosion camp.
“No!” the campers squeal. “Of course not!”
But Ballengée gently protests. “I think you have,” he says. “Raise your hand if you’ve ever eaten at Popeye’s.”
Hands, of course, shoot up. The kids wait expectantly to hear exactly how dinosaur might have been slipped into their Popeye’s kids meals.
“You’ve eaten chicken, right?” Ballengée says. “Chickens are birds, and birds are dinosaurs.”
To the children’s delight, Ballengée explains that birds spring from the same evolutionary family tree that includes none other than the most infamous dinosaur of them all, Tyrannosaurus Rex.
It’s an “a-ha” moment the campers won’t forget, and it’s one of many that happen throughout the day as Ballengée and his wife Aurore weave a tapestry of biology, storytelling, and art into their weeklong session, which is held at the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center in downtown Baton Rouge. Known as Bug Boot Camp, the event focuses on a different class of animals every day, such as mammals, insects, and birds. Using fun and sometimes zany methods, the Ballengées help kids discover and interpret the natural wonders present in their own backyards.
“Our goal is to get people inspired by biodiversity and the ecosystems around us,” said Ballengée, a former New York City-based artist who says he and his wife, a native of France, were drawn to Louisiana for its wild natural wonder and Francophone culture.
“Kids are naturally drawn to animals, so that’s what we use to help them become more conscious of the world around them.” —Brandon Ballengée
On the day the kids learn about birds, the couple leads them through multi-sensory arts projects that include painting portraits of their own original “dino-birds,” constructing bird masks, and strutting around the room wearing bird-inspired fashion items. Aurore Ballengée also shows them how to make tasty bird food for their backyard friends.
Bug Boot Camp is one of many examples of the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge’s extensive arts education programs, which taps notable regional artists to share their talents during camps, in public school classrooms, and through community projects.
“Our education programs bring top-notch arts programming to kids in our region, while also enabling professional artists to work,” said Education Programs Manager Marie Flowers. “We are so excited about the programs Brandon and Aurore are bringing, which connect the arts with science.”
The Ballengées are so devoted to spreading engaging science and arts education that they have established their own nature preserve outside Arnaudville, Louisiana, where they also live and are raising their two young children. Through the Arts Council and with financial support provided by Shell, they’ve taught workshops to children at Park Forest and Ryan Elementary Schools and will soon do the same in Ascension Parish. Brandon also provides professional development training for teachers, demonstrating effective ways of getting kids excited about the urban natural environment.
Soon, Baton Rouge will also be able to enjoy public art created by Brandon. He’ll be installing a 12x15 foot aluminum and metal sculpture of a swallowtail butterfly in the Renoir Arts and Cultural District, with funding through a partnership with East Baton Rouge Housing Authority and Partners Southeast. The sculpture has glow-in-thedark features that will attract native insects at night— just another charming example of Ballengée’s mission to fuse art and nature.
“We live in such a special part of the universe,” he said. “It’s great to be able to teach kids to care about these places and our natural heritage.”
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