You Are Stardust by Elin Kelsey and illustrated by Soyeon Kim is a children’s book filled with charming dioramic art and big ideas.

About the book:

You Are Stardust begins by introducing the idea that every tiny atom in our bodies came from a star that exploded long before we were born. From its opening pages, the book suggests that we are intimately connected to the natural world; it compares the way we learn to speak to the way baby birds learn to sing, and the growth of human bodies to the growth of forests. Award-winning author Elin Kelsey — along with a number of concerned parents and educators around the world — believes children are losing touch with nature. This innovative picture book aims to reintroduce children to their innate relationship with the world around them by sharing many of the surprising ways that we are all connected to the natural world.

Quantum Chess by Olena Shmahalo is based on Richard Feynman’s metaphor for quantum mechanics.

About the project:

The material, fired clay, alludes to the biblical story of creation (from dust, dirt, mud) as it sits in accordance with the current, scientific understanding of our being. The phrase “Created in the image of god” has become equivalent to being “made of star stuff” (Carl Sagan).

As each piece is both “subject” and “landscape” (piece & board), the set does away with the concept of Classical separation in favor of suggesting a perception of All as unified, yet variously manifested. The shape of the “landscape” comes from illustrated representations of quantum space-time, magnified, as seen in Hawking’s Brief History of Time.

The metaphorical form of these pieces complicates the game, just as increased knowledge requires more complex equipment and more difficult questions. Each time a new game is begun, it must be treated as if entering a new “universe”. It’s possible to play Quantum Chess according to the classic rules, but the players must assign names to and label the pieces in order to keep track of the game.

Not that I wanted to picture Einstein in his skivvies, but fun anyway.

project-argus:

Paper Doll Scientists by Mad Art Lab.  Get printing and coloring, people!