Mission Accomplished! #Aimhigher

Drone photo by John Zarr

On Monday, October 11, we unveiled a giant 6,300 square foot Earthwork portrait of NASA Astronaut Stephanie Wilson created by crop artist Stan Herd. The frame and wording of #AimHigher was made out of 1500 tiles of space art created by kids from 14 Atlanta Schools and 3 children's hospitals. 

At the ceremony were Astronauts Nicole Stott, Susan Kilrain and Dr. Sian Proctor who only just returned to Earth from the Inspiration4 Mission where she became the first black woman to pilot a spacecraft. They all spoke about the importance of representation to inspire the next generation to aim higher for their dreams. 

Stephanie Wilson was the second Black woman to go into space. She's flown in three missions — her first in 2006 — and she's also one of 18 astronauts on the NASA Artemis team, which is set to go to the moon in 2024.

Metro Atlanta students, families, and communities visited the Georgia Tech campus to participate in a variety of hands-on activities, demonstrations and more focused on SPACE, including (but not limited to): AR/VR activities & 3D printing activities (Aero Maker Space), Meet an astronaut and GA Tech subject matter experts, Giant Moon & Mars map activities & Robotics demonstrations, Rocket building/launching activities & Drone flying activities (AE Indoor Flight Facility) , Art station to create space themed art.

Working with the Space for Art Foundation founded by NASA astronaut Nicole Stott and the Hines Family Foundation founded by former Chief Technologist of NASA Ames, we partnered with Georgia Tech, Georgia Space Grant Consortium, Mercer STEM Innovation Lab, Morehouse College and Atlanta International School. Atlanta Public School kids and kids from a local hospital to create artwork of what space means to them. 

Each artwork was made on a tile we provided and brought together to form a frame around the larger Earthwork in Woodruff Park. STEAM education in action!

Stan Herd, a native of Kansas, has been active in film, music and the arts in America’s heartland for over 40 years. He began creating large scale “Earthworks,” giant eco-friendly artworks made of organic materials, gaining recognition in National Geographic and Smithsonian Magazine. Herd, once called the "Father of Crop Art" by CBS news anchor Dan Rather, has been crafting massive-scale designs into fields since the early 1980’s. In 2020 he created Earthworks of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, which gained attention by the Biden presidential campaign. Herd has created Earthworks all over the United States as well as in Australia, Brazil, China and Cuba. Learn more: stanherdarts.com