Powell High School art students are heading back to the moon this year, with an update of the space room which was first started in 2017. 

“When Mr. (Jim) Gilman told me that we would be continuing the Mission to the Moon project; I was unbelievably excited,” junior Kaylen Greenwald said. “I’ve always loved that area in the school and when I found out that I would be able to help make it even better, I couldn’t wait to get started.”

Greenwald has worked on the art projects for the past two years. This year she’s helped with the moon, painting the walls and the Armstong spacesuit. 

The space room was the least complete of all the art installations at PHS, featuring a space shuttle that is one-seventh scale and a fictitious Russian satellite that is in reference to the movie “Space Cowboys.” 

So before the school year started, Gilman went online and asked for followers of the art program to pitch their ideas to update the space area. He wrote those down and then presented them to students once school was back in session. The students brainstormed as well and a final overall list was created.

“In the 3D art room on each table, there is a giant piece of paper,” Greenwald said. “We take a couple days and get everyone’s ideas on what we think would fit best in that certain pod. Then, within days we start planning out how we will make each thing.” 

The artists wanted to highlight the history of the space program, from the historic Apollo Lunar Module to a SpaceX rocket. There’s a lifesize replica of Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit, as well as some sci-fi pieces from “Battlestar Galactica” and “Star Trek.” Murals are also being added to the walls, featuring the solar system and various quotes.

“We are also working on a smaller version of the Star Trek Enterprise, and we have a Stargate, which is another sci-fi series,” Gilman said. “Then we built a giant moon in the display.”

Making their mark

Around 60 students have put in work on the project, but Gilman said as many as 80 could contribute by the end of the year. The majority of students work on things from start to finish, while a few are only able to help out for a semester. 

“Then there are kids that aren’t even in my class because they don’t have room in their schedules, but who are in there every day working on it anyway,” he said. “They take their free time when they get a chance, and they’ll come in and work on it and help us out.”

This is Taylor Iverson’s third year working on the projects as part of the class. So far she’s helped paint the walls, including quotes, stars and the solar system, as well as add details to the Armstrong spacesuit. She’s also worked on the launch tower that surrounds the support beam in the pod.

“The additions to the space pod have, so far, truly surpassed my expectations and have added so much creative beauty to our school hallways,” Iverson said. “Having pods to do work in is one thing, but having them full of years worth of art from some of the kids who actively still go to the school spread throughout the hallways adds a sense of pride that is unspoken. Our school is unique as it is, but the art program is unlike any other, and it has grown our school in immense ways.” 

Overcoming challenges

For Gilman, the challenges that pop up and discovering how to solve them is what makes each project so fun.

“One of the biggest ones, and the one the kids would say was most frustrating, is we had an online 3D model that we were looking at for the Apollo 11 lunar lander and we used that to do our scaling and the detail work,” he said. “It was a very good CAD drawing, but unfortunately it had a lot of errors and once we started getting a little bit further into it, we realized the scaling was wrong. It was supposed to be one-sixth scale, and it was too big.”

By that point the Apollo 13 capsule, command module and lunar lander were framed up and even had some skin. The Apollo 11 was also mostly skinned when they had to scrap both of the pieces and start over. 

“It was just easier than trying to correct how many problems we had with it,” Gilman said. “What was funny is, since we’d already worked out many of the problems on how we put it together [the first time] we’re almost back to exactly the same spot we were before in about two and a half weeks.”

With so many people working to complete the projects, Iverson said it can be difficult to make sure everyone is on the same page.

“We share and collaborate on what we make, but the challenge is making sure everyone has the same vision in their head,” she said. “We all see the vision of the pod, but it takes trust and teamwork to truly understand the work needed behind the building of the pod. Mr. Gilman’s art classes are truly incredible and create an inspiring workspace. Our opinions are shared and ideas are heard each and every day. It is a wonderful environment.” 

So far some of the sci-fi pieces and moon are done and installed, with all the other pieces in various phases of completion. Gilman said they all are on track to be done by the end of the year, with a couple extra ideas on deck to build if there is time. 

“The Battlestar Galactica is 8 feet long and about 4 feet wide, and we’re working on some of the finer details on the outside of the skin at this point, so it’s getting there,” Gilman said. “The Apollo 11 lunar lander is now getting paint and some details, the Apollo 13 module and capsule are getting paint and details from the explosion at this point.”

Iverson encourages those who haven’t seen the art at PHS to come check out all their hard work. 

“People online see the pictures of our halls, but pictures don’t do our art justice,” she said. “Powell High School gets visitors yearly for our art, and I recommend to anyone remotely interested that they make a trip, get a tour and visit our school.”