My colleagues and I developed our "Discovering Physics" course a dozen years ago based on the best available research on (predominantly pre-college) student learning in the sciences. The hands-on small-group approach we subsequently adopted works quite nicely in the university environment, as well. As a major side benefit, we began consulting with and eventually working closely with teachers in the Worcester Public Schools. Over the years, we developed a regular collaborative cycle: 1.) A curriculum team of Clark faculty and K-12 teachers meets during the academic year for discussions and to design activities built around a "big idea" in the sciences; 2.) A summer institute is offered, for a larger group of teachers, based on the work of the curriculum team; 3.) A "Ways of Knowing in the Sciences" course is offered in the fall for Education Department students, centered on the previously-tested science content coupled with a variety of pedagogical approaches, as well as observations in the schools; and 4.) The cycle resumes with a new team and a different "big idea." The experience continues to be both rewarding and eye-opening.

How much did Seurat know about the physics, physiology, and perceptual science of color mixing when he began his experiments in pointillism? Did Vermeer have a camera obscura built into his studio to create the perfect perspective and luminous effects of his canvases? Early in the 20th century, consequences of the idea that "no single reference point is to be preferred above any other" were worked out in physics by Einstein (special and general relativity), in art by Picasso (early cubism), and in music by Schoenberg (12-tone compositions); did this same paradigm-shifting concept arise, in three disparate fields, merely by coincidence? We are developing a new course, aimed primarily at non-science majors, that addresses questions like these through a combination of hands-on experiments on the physics of light, investigations in visual perception, empirical tests of various drawing and painting techniques, and field trips to nearby museums. We will show a few examples of the kinds of art/science intersections our students will be exploring, and present a working outline for the course.