Tiny Kingdom

The Tiny Kingdom created for Southside STEM Academy at Campostella in Norfolk, Virginia, is approximately 37’ feet long and 4 1/2’ tall. This project carried with it a specific mandate that part of design showcase the school’s status as a STEM school. With technology advancing more rapidly by the day, our approach was to feature old school methods of scientific inquiry, and to make the visual experience of the wall mosaic as engaging, revelatory and tactile as the experience of science outside of the classroom can be.

The center of the mosaic depicts two kids who are exploring their world together. The girl is using her magnifying glass to look at a moon snail shell. The boy is drawing a picture of a cicada wing. These simple activities are at the heart of scientific inquiry: curiosity, observation, documentation, exploration.