**Open to all current RISD students/faculty/staff**
Join the Nature Lab for our next Lunch & Learn, featuring the transdisciplinary artist Stewart Skylar Copeland!
"Virtual Presence, or the Art of Almost Being There" explores the tension between immersion and detachment in virtual environments. Drawing on personal work and research, this talk examines how vast, virtual landscapes can leave us feeling more "surrounded" than truly present, challenging the traditional notions...
Biodesign Makerspace @ the RISD Nature Lab
13 Waterman St.
Providence, RI — 02903
**Open to all current RISD students/faculty/staff**
Join the Regenerative Earth Collective for a hands-on workshop exploring the process of turning raw wool into yarn! Spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis, with a maximum capacity of 20 participants.
Biodesign Makerspace @ RISD Nature Lan
13 Waterman St.
Providence, RI — 02903
**Open to all current RISD students, faculty, and staff**
Join the Regenerative Earth Collective to learn how to turn natural plant materials grown in their garden into pigments for dyes and paints! Space for this workshop is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Biodesign Makerspace @ the RISD Nature Lab
13 Waterman St.
Providence, RI — 02903
**Open to all current RISD students/faculty/staff**
The RISD Regenerative Earth Collective garden plot is getting a new compost system designed by Providence Gardenworks this Thursday, January 23rd—and you’re invited to come learn all about composting! The installation will take place at 8am at 4 Defoe Place, followed that evening with a talk by compost expert Stewart Martin from 7-8pm in the Biodesign Makerspace.
Biodesign Makerspace @ the RISD Nature Lab
13 Waterman St.
Providence, RI — 02903
**Open to all current RISD students, faculty, and staff**
The Nature Lab's Visualization and
Imaging Research Associate, Georgia Rhodes, will present a talk about
her recent experience traveling through the Southern Ocean aboard the
RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer for a research expedition funded by the
National Science Foundation exploring how diatoms in the Southern Ocean
can provide insight into nutrient cycling and climate interactions from
past glacial periods to...
Biodesign Makerspace @ the RISD Nature Lab
13 Waterman St.
Providence, RI — 02903
Are you interested in biophilic design, living systems, and local
marine ecology? The Nature Lab is redoing our 150-gallon saltwater
tanks, and you could design the new habitat for our specimens!
Join us for a two-hour info session about this student design
contest, which will include presentations from the Director of the
Nature Lab, Dr. Jennifer Bissonnette, and Lab Coordinator Ava Handley,
followed by an opportunity to ask...
Biodesign Makerspace @ the RISD Nature Lab
13 Waterman St.
Providence, RI — 02903
Join the Nature Lab for an off-campus event at the local bird sanctuary Congress of the Birds!
This two-hour program features a lecture by the art educator,
environmental activist, and federally-licensed wildlife rehabilitator
Sheida Soleimani, who will present the challenges that...
The Nature Lab invites everyone in the RISD community to stop by between 6-9:30pm on Halloween for free monstera and spider plant cuttings, plant pot decorating, a UV light station, and of course—candy! Costumes encouraged :)
This event is open to anyone in the RISD community, but space is limited
and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Food and drinks will
be served.
Join us for a lunchtime event in the Biodesign Makerspace with forester and author Ethan Tapper, who will read from his new book exploring the complex and evolving relationship between human beings and these ecosystems that are as fragile as they are resilient.
"As the ecosystems that sustain all...
Biodesign Makerspace @ the Nature Lab
13 Waterman St.
Providence, RI
The Nature Lab and NCSS hosted a zoom lecture by Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry of Land Art Generator, with a Q+A moderated by Laura Briggs. The talk explored the historic ties between art, design, and energy, as well as examples of renewable energy infrastructures that coexist with public places and biodiverse ecologies.
Street-side compost is growing! But because these are early days, the design of the components needed for composting is limited.
RISD students are invited to participate in a design charrette hosted
by Senior Critic Laura Briggs and the Nature Lab. The event will
include a presentation by Dan Martens of the biopolymer research company
Novamont, followed by group sketching and modeling with the goal of
creating a kitchen compost caddy that is as beautiful as it is...
The Nature Lab and Nature-Culture-Sustainability Studies presented the third lecture in the 2024 Spring Speaker Series: Mitchell Joachim, "Bunnies and Biotech: Designing Synthetic Life."
On Saturday, May 4th The Mushroom Hunting Foundation presented an educational lecture about creating textile dyes from mushrooms, followed by a field trip to Lincoln Woods to forage for our own local dye mushrooms. Workshop go-ers learned how to identify and categorize different species of local edible and dye mushrooms, discussed foraging safety and etiquette, and successfully foraged for over 5 different mushroom species including turkey-tail mushrooms, polypores, and trichaptum...
The Nature Lab and Nature-Culture-Sustainability Studies presented the second lecture in the 2024 Spring Speakers Series: Orkan Telhan, "design.bio"
Orkan Telhan investigates critical issues in cultural, environmental and social responsibility. He is the Chief Information and Data Officer at Ecovative. He serves as the president of the Biodesign Challenge. He was Associate Professor of Fine Arts - Emerging Design Practices at University of Pennsylvania, Stuart Weitzman School...
Chace Auditorium
20 N. Main St.
Providence, RI — 02903
On April 6th the Nature Lab hosted "Unweaving Colonial Binaries with Ants," a lecture and workshop exploring ants as communities, not colonies. The event began with a talk by guest artist Kuai Shen investigating the legacy of colonialist scientific methods in the field of myrmecology, followed by activities with live ants including magnified observation and building amplification devices to listen to their sounds.
This event was presented in collaboration with Providence College...
The Nature Lab and RISD's Nature-Culture-Sustainability Concentration have joined forces to curate an ongoing speaker series featuring some of the leading voices in the world of biodesign. The inaugural lecture was delivered on March 13th by Christina Agapakis, Head of Creative at Ginkgo Bioworks, who spoke about her personal journey as a scientist and the complex ethical considerations involved in using biology as a manufacturing tool.
Christina traces her interest in biotechnology...
Chace Auditorium
20 N. Main St.
Providence, RI — 02903
This workshop was held on March, 10th 2024 from 12 to 4pm.
The Nature Lab hosted a book repair workshop to give well-loved and antique books the care and attention they deserve. Students engaged with the fascinating art of book repair including practicing two spine repair techniques known as rebacking and recasing. Old books were made ready for use again with a little jade glue, bone folders, scissors, paper, and incredible mending skills!
This workshop was held in two 2-hour sessions on March 2nd, 2024.
Students explored the many possibilities of papermaking through various pulp sources and applications of traditional and alternative fibers. Techniques included pulp preparation, sheet forming, pulp painting, solid and hollow casting, and additives to transform pulp and paper into desired 2D and 3D forms.
Sessions...
13 Waterman St
Nature Lab, Biodesign Makerspace (Waterman room 11)
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — 02903
This workshop was held in two 4-hour sessions on February 17th and 18th, 2024.
Students learned how to turn natural dyes into pigments that can be ground to make watercolor paints. Logwood, cochineal, and weld flower dyes were used to get deep purples, rich pinks, and vibrant yellows. Workshop goers learned how a diverse range of colors can be achieved through natural materials and chemical processes, and participants got to take home some of the pigment they made during the...
13 Waterman St.
Biodesign Makerspace (room 11)
Providence, RI — 02903
Our last workshop of the semester has arrived! We will be showing how to use several different resist methods to dye fabric with indigo. This workshop will be this Saturday, May 6th, 1-3pm in the Nature Lab Maker Space (rm. 11).
Do you use plants or plant imagery in your work? Do you know how they breathe? Have sex? Grow? Where they live? How to identify their differences in the large family of photosynthesizing beings?
A hands-on workshop using microscopes, flower dissection and food to better understand the plant world. Led by artist and botanical illustrator Mara Menahan.
13 Waterman St
Nature Lab Microscopy Room | Waterman Room 12
Providence, Rhode Island — 02903
Stop by Carr Haus Cafe to do activities with ISE, the Nature Lab, the Regenerative Earth Club (REC), and the Brown RISD Innovative Community (BRIC). We'll have a mending workshop, create biomaterial kits, and give away sustainable items! The Nature Lab will be handing out seed paper made with recycled paper and a local wildflower seed mix, as well as baby succulent plants. Open to the RISD community, intended for students. Hope to see you there!
210 Benefit St
Carr Haus Cafe
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — 02903
We invite you to join us this Wednesday evening for a celebration of plant this poem, our annual Earth (Poetry) Day celebration, along with Eleni's new book, Your Kingdom. Plantings (in the form of poems, recitiations, and short talks) will be made by/called forth from Adjua Gargi Nzinga Greaves, Eleni Sikelianos, Imani Elizabeth Jackson, Sam Coren, Alexandra Ionescu, and a choral William Blake. Come celebrate with us on April 19th at 6 pm, at the RISD Nature Lab (13 Waterman St, Providence,...
Following up on her Color Lab fellowship, Hope Leeson will be leading a foraging & bundle dye workshop in the Biodesign Makerspace on April 15th, from 10am-3pm. The workshop is open to any and all who wish to participate, but is limited in the number of spaces available. The first part of the workshop will center around various seasonal plant materials containing pigment and tannins for dyeing. We'll select materials from this collection to use in our bundle dyeing. Fabric and bundling...
13 Waterman St
Rhode Island School of Design, Nature Lab
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — 02903
Learn about how to make your own pigments to turn into inks and paints with Clara and Julia. We will be using lake pigments and inks made from plants found around providence, from our own garden, and food scraps. We will show you how to make a lake pigment, the difference between pigments and...
13 Waterman St
Edna Lawrence Nature Lab | Waterman room 11
Providence, Rhode Island — 02903
Part science lecture, part weather observation training and part collective poetic gesture. Led by Nature Lab graduate assistant Mara Menahan (RISD MFA Illustration 2024).
We’ll start by thinking of the sky as a layered membrane between the earth’s surface and outer space, using science to better understand what makes this planet’s atmosphere so incredibly unique. Then we’ll think about scientific instruments and the way they are extensions of human senses and Mara will orient you to...
13 Waterman St.
Edna W. Lawrence Nature Lab
Providence, Rhode Island — 02903
Join us in this collaboration event between BRIC (Brown RISD Innovation Community) and REC ( Regenerative Earth Collective) on Flax.
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, Linum usitatissimum. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Flax fiber is extracted from the bast or skin of the stem of the flax plant and used in many cultures for textile goods. In...
13 Waterman St
Edna Lawrence Nature Lab | Waterman room 11
Providence, Rhode Island — 02903
Learn about rocks and how they tell the history of the Earth in their texture and composition. We will explore geologic time, the rock cycle, Rhode Island geology, and much more. Take home a piece of Cumberlandite - RI’s magnetic state rock! Also learn about the fascinating KT Extinction rock. Led by Chloe Kahn, MLA student in Landscape Architecture and Nature Lab Graduate Assistant. Open to the RISD community. Click to view...
This was a past event that was held in the academic year of 2022-2023.
Mindful movement and meditation was broken into two 1/2 hour segments (drop in for one or stay for both!), including gentle movement for chronically stressed points, like neck, shoulders, wrists, and hands; and guided meditations oriented to relaxation and paying kind and compassionate attention.
Sessions were led by Liz Maynard, in the Nature Lab's Biodesign Makerspace, and were open to the RISD...
The second installment of the Nature Lab Biomaterial Workshop Series. Clara Boberg will lead biomaterial exploration by working with food scraps to make natural dye. Learn about the possibilities of dyeing with food scraps, what you need to get started, and have some tasty guacamole while we use the avocado pits and skins to dye bandanas! Open to...
Tentative Theme: Coexisting Futures Spring 2023 Course Offerings RISD x KIA Research Collaborative (formerly RISD x Hyundai) A partnership between Hyundai Motor Company, KIA, RISD Strategic Partnerships and RISD Nature Lab, with support from Co-Works
The first installment of our Biomaterial Workshop Series. Hope Leeson will lead biomaterial exploration using invasive plants such as Phragmites reed, Asiatic Bittersweet, and Red ulva seaweed. Learn what materials you can make with these plants and apply it to your own practice! Open to RISD students. RSVP on Involved to attend, limited to 15 participants.
Join the folks at the Nature Lab for a Hallows' Eve special event, featuring free monstera cuttings, sweets and treats, featured creature folklore, and the opportunity to explore some of our collection in a unique way - through UV fluorescence! This event is campus-wide and will occur during our open hours.
A creative practice demands constant forms of seeking inspiration. The process moves in different loops, circles, diagonal lines, often etching an artwork on its own. This year's theme revolves around the journey followed by a multidisciplinary group of artists, designers, and researchers on their way to finding inspiration in nature when imagining a sustainable future. From the coral reefs under the sea, to the species that live at the edge of the ocean, from the movement of insects, to how...
After being postponed in 2020, the Nature Lab is pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for our first ever Block Island Experience (BIX)! Open to both undergraduate and graduate students, BIX is the ideal introduction for RISD students to gain a deeper understanding of the local ecology and become inspired by the diversity of life in...
Join us for a two-part workshop, The Color Blue, led by Botanist-in-Residence Hope Leeson and RISD student Clara Boberg TX 23. These workshops will take place on Saturday, November 6th and 13th, from 1 to 4pm at the Edna Lawrence Nature Lab, Biodesign Makerspace (Room 11).
In this workshop series we will investigate color as a means of communication, explore the theme of fermentation as process, and delve into the importance of the color blue for living creatures. During these...
The Biodeisgn Makerspace in the Nature Lab
13 Waterman St
Providence, RI — 02903
The Visualization Forum is an annual event hosted by Vis-a-thon where recipients of the Collaborative Visualization Grant publicly share their work, experiments, and research. This year, please join us to hear RISD students Zach Scheinfeld 22 GD and Avantika Velho 22 ID + NCSS discuss their collaborative, interdisciplinary projects with URI PhD candidates Basia Marcks and Anna Schrecengost.
Join Kidder Gowen of Hawk and Handsaw Farm and Hope Leeson, Botanist-In-Residence at the Nature Lab, for a three hour workshop on Saturday, October 30 at 1:00 pm. In this workshop, attendees will learn how to process flax from its natural form in the field to to its use as a fiber.
This event is open to current RISD students, faculty, and staff only. Reservation is required. RSVP HERE.
The Biodeisgn Makerspace in the Nature Lab
13 Waterman St
Providence, RI — 02903
Deadline to apply: February 5, 2021 Click here to apply!
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) students engage in 10 weeks of intensive research training. They develop professional relationships with faculty and graduate students, gain hands-on experience with active research projects, become familiarized with complex lab equipment, and learn about topics such as applying to grad school...
The RISD-Hyundai Research Collaborative Team is excited to announce our Spring 2022 courses. We invite you to apply. These courses are part of a collaboration between Hyundai Motor Group and RISD. Our partnership supports many activities—sponsored studios, exhibitions, summer research, and trips to Seoul (when possible). Our Spring 2022 courses involve generous support for student research,...
A collaboration between the Nature Lab and Southeastern New England Fibershed, The Common Thread virtual series explored the commonalities within the systems of land, waste, material, and color and how they can intersect with various modes of thought to...
From October 2020 — May 2021, the Nature Lab hosted the Regeneration virtual series, an online speaker event that explored diverse perspectives on how making can integrate with natural, cultural, and social systems in a way that influences creative practices for the benefit of communities and the planet. Moderated by Dora Mugerwa, with collaborative support from
Our Shared Planet: The Environment Issue Special Issue of American Studies Guest editors: Hee-Jung Joo (University of Manitoba), Pacharee Sudhinaraset...
Thousands of years ago, retreating glaciers left behind a pile of rock and rubble off the southern coast of Rhode Island that today is a popular vacation destination, combining inland rolling hummocks and hollows with dramatic cliffs, dunes and sandy beaches. Native American habitation dates back to 500 B.C.: they referred to both the island, and themselves as “Manisses”, translated as “Little God’s Island”. Today it is about 50% conservation land, mostly held by the Nature Conservancy,...
The Edna W Lawrence Nature Lab is working on the creation of a three-dimensional mobile visualization platform for viewing
animations of ocean model simulations based on data obtained through C-AIM projects. Using publicly available
LIDAR data created by NOAA, we have already created a complete polygonal mesh of Narragansett Bay and its
bathymetry, resulting in a computer-generated model that can be 3D printed to create a scale model. The
resulting 3D print is then used as a platform for...
The Edna W. Lawrence Nature Lab at RISD, Fleet Library at RISD, and Synergetics Collaborative were pleased to announce the 6th Biennial Design Science Symposium: Inclusive Narratives from Nature, an event which explored multiple approaches to sustainable/nature-inspired making, community development, and other work that facilitates a holistic...
The RISD Nature Lab, RISD Fleet Library, and Synergetics Collaborative are pleased to announce an open call for proposals for the the upcoming 6th Biennial Design Science Symposium: Inclusive Narratives from Nature. The event will bring together multiple speakers and workshop/breakout session leaders that explore varied approaches to a holistic relationship with nature and natural systems, sustainable|nature inspired making, and community development.
Modern Meadow is a pioneer in biofabrication using the latest tools from biotechnology to build a new world of materials. Their ZoaTM Biofabricated Materials are designed and grown from animal free collagen. Through the collaboration of design, biology and material science, they create materials to solve sustainability challenges while reimagining material possibilities.
Woods Gerry, 62 Prospect Street
Providence, RI — 02903
The Nature Lab's 80th anniversary culminated with Biodesign: From Inspiration to Integration, an exhibition curated in collaboration with William Myers. The exhibition ran from Aug 25—Sept 27 and showcased recent examples of design and art that inform our complex relationship with nature and help us decipher how it may evolve in the future.
On August 24, 2018, opening day of the Biodesign: From Inspiration to Integration exhibition, we hosted a half-day symposium that brought together international artists, designers, scientists and educators for talks, discussions and presentations on topics such as valuing non-human forms of life as collaborators, artistic and scientific modes of inquiry, and ethical considerations in bioart and biodesign practices.
From May 21st-July 27th, this project will work to document 21st century plant diversity in dune and salt marsh habitats around Narragansett Bay in order to record changes resulting from climate change. We will collect herbarium specimens and create images of all field sites and species present, with the aim of comparing present day diversity to historical diversity records from online herbarium resources dating back to the early 1800s. Using a range of technologies and design strategies, we...
Join the Nature Lab’s summer fabrication team! We are building a first of it’s kind biodesign makerspace and we need your talents to make it happen. Apply now!
The Application deadline is April 7th, 2018.
We are seeking 4 graduate students and 3 undergrads with a wide range of fabrication skills to work from the 28th of May to the 3rd of August, building out the new space. Students will be compensated for 35 hrs a week. If you have a passion for sustainable...
The Providence Athenaeum's April 6th Salon brought together three panelists to discuss the significance of Edna Lawrence’s vision from their respective disciplines. Entomologist David Wagner discussed the role of color and pattern in nature; Nature Lab Coordinator Betsy Ruppa regaled with stories about the origins of the natural history collection and its value to an art school; and Senior Critic in RISD’s Experimental and Foundation Studies department Alba Corrado shared memories of Edna...
Providence Athenaeum, 251 Benefit St
Philbrick Rare Book Room
Providence, Rhode Island — 02903
Curated by Oswaldo Chinchilla [BFA '21 ID CER], this exhibition celebrates a collection of specimens from the Nature Lab, partially donated by RISD's Intercultural Student Engagement (ISE).
Exhibition Dates: April 5th - Cinco de Mayo Location: Edna Lawrence Natural History Collection
Exhibition Biodesign: From Inspiration to Integration Curated by William Myers & The Nature Lab at RISD Funding for production, shipping or travel may be available
This upcoming LABscape exhibition in Hillsdale, New York features 92 artists, including several RISD alums. The curator, Eric Wolf, who is a 1982 graduate from RISD's Photography Department, brings together work that depicts nature and celebrates the Nature Lab and Edna Lawrence's teachings.
Join Eric Wolf and the featured artists at the opening reception: February 17th, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
The 2017 academic year marks the 80th anniversary of the Edna W. Lawrence Nature Lab at Rhode Island School of Design. During her 50+ year tenure, Edna Lawrence’s collection and her drawing courses introduced students to a way of seeing nature, and its details, as fundamental forms and patterns in art and design. While her shells, insects, plants, animals, bones, textiles, ceramics, wood, and more have catalyzed creativity for students each year, Edna Lawrence’s lifelong endeavor resulted in...
RISD Fleet Library
15 Westminster Street
Providence, Rhode Island
This free two-day workshop introduced participants to mixed and virtual reality tools. Attendees thought about and incorporated new ways of sharing their research using VR as a tool and artistic inquiry as a method. Participants experienced advanced VR technology at the Center for Computation and Visualization at Brown University and familiarized themselves with augmented reality (AR) processes at the Nature Lab to integrate into their work.
Dates: July 21–22,...
Nature Lab at Rhode Island School of Design
Center for Computation and Visualization at Brown University
Scott MacIvor from GRIT Lab shared his extensive knowledge of pollinators in a workshop on how to build "bee hotels." Bees are essential pollinators of plants and crops including apples, plums, carrots, coffee, cotton. However, many bee species are currently in decline or endangered, largely because of loss of their feeding and nesting habitats. Building bee hotels is a...
Nature Lab — Room 11
13 Waterman Street
Providence
Scott MacIvor received a PhD in Biology in 2015 at York University, where he researched patterns in urban bee and wasp diversity, and is now a post doctoral researcher at GRIT Lab at the...
David Katz is a sculpture and installation artist working primarily with ceramics and unfired clay and a Critic in the Ceramics department at RISD. He presented a site-specific installation in the Nature Lab's bone room titled Structure and Growth. This installation was part of "What Fire Does", an Earth...
Led by Maria Eugenia Moya Martinez [MFA '18 SC], Adam Chuong [MID '19], Peter Lokken [MFA '18 FURN], and Kylie King [MDes '18], these workshops invited members of the RISD community to grow crystals, experiment with bioplastics, and make paper using invasive species. Read the full story
Art as Infrastructure for Coastal Resilience and Education
This Saturday, June 18th, a group of designers and scientists will be installing sculptural forms in the intertidal zone at India Point Park. The forms were developed by a group of students, faculty and scientists with NSF EPSCoR funding with the goal of improving sustainability of local shellfish populations and protecting coastal habitat from he impacts of sea level rise. The community is encouraged to...
The Design Science Symposium is an interactive meeting of makers, thinkers, practitioners, and educators. This year's focus is STEAM Intelligence: multidisciplinary thinking that relies on actively integrating and applying Science,...
Chace Auditorium
Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, Rhode Island — 02903
Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR’s 2016 inaugural Annual Research Symposium will take place Thursday, April 14th at the University of Rhode Island Narragansett Bay Campus.
The event will feature panel presentations on interdisciplinary research collaborations and a poster session of marine life science and climate change research by faculty, researchers, and students, funded by RI EPSCoR and the RI Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC).
Panel discussions include "The Nature...
URI Narragansett Bay Campus
215 S Ferry Rd
Narragansett, RI — 02882
Come celebrate with us in this student-led fundraising event to purchase a new companion specimen for our Mouse Deer.
We are not sure if it is the big eyes, its frail looking legs or the overall smallness of this deer but this specimen's charisma just keeps growing and so does the number of students contributing to this event. Join us and be surprised by the many mouse deer inspired items for sale, artworks and baked goods.
The whale is the ultimate shape-shifter: from creation myth to industrial resource and ecological emblem, it has become what ever we want it to be. In the fluid, psychic disjuncture of the meeting of natural history and human history, no other animate...
Metcalf Auditorium, RISD Chace Center
20 North Main Street
Providence, RI — 02903
Recognized as one of the foremost origami artists in the world as well as a pioneer in computational origami and the development of formal design algorithms for folding, Dr. Lang wowed a sold-out audience in...
As a science and natural history resource situated in an art and design school, the Nature Lab provides numerous research and collaboration opportunities to students.
