Half-pallets with mix of products fine-tuned to appeal to regional C-store customers

Just in time for the Chicago Incubator’s innovation launch this week, we’re showcasing City in a Garden, a documentary comic book about The Art of Science Learning and Chicago’s Urban Nutrition challenge. Created by AoSL Artists in Residence Hannah Gamble (writing) and Nick Goettling (images and comics), it’s a wonderful, highly visual and interactive work of art, science, and innovation. Using words and illustrations, City in a Garden explores the history of Chicago and the age-old challenge of feeding the world, documents the Art of Science Learning process and project, and celebrates the amazing work of the Chicago incubator participants. Click here to download City in a Garden (10mb .pdf file)....

The San Diego Incubator for Innovation embodies a commitment to collaboration, creativity, and innovation at the intersection of art, science and learning.

Todd Siler, Art of Science Learning’s ArtScientist in Residence, talks about this unique innovation practice which evolved out of his explorations at MIT and the application of that work to organizations around the world.         METAPHORMING and the Art of Science Learning by Dr. Todd Siler Art has a way of pointing things out through implicit picture-statements that express our intuitions. These are the primary physical and conceptual ‘‘vehicles of imagination’’ that move us through the windows, doors, and open highways of our metaphors. Naturally, science does its share of pointing, too, using explicit statement-pictures and the scientific method to generate and glean discoveries. These are highlighted as hypotheses, which grow from observational science and common sense. For the past three decades, I have combined arts-based and science-based learning tools in the form of ‘‘5-D Models’’ and applied them in creative acts of innovation. I refer to these symbolic models as 5-D because they embody the traditional three dimensions of height, width and depth, as well as 4-D (time and motion perspectives); the 5th dimension encompasses all forms of symbolism or symbolic languages, such as words, images, objects, numbers, signs, stories, allegories, puns, visual metaphors, physical analogies, similes, and other devices that we use to express ourselves and communicate. Central to this work is a process I call metaphorming, which is a much deeper and more effective way of brainstorming. Participants collaborate in making multi-dimensional, freeform, symbolic models. These models contain a wealth of ideas, insights, knowledge, and creative solutions. Over the years, I have applied metaphorming to help cross-disciplinary groups produce innovative ideas and breakthroughs that lead to significant outcomes with measurable results. The process leads participants to spontaneously engage in conversations in non-contentious and non-threatening ways. Consequently, it enables people to easily connect with and better understand one another. ‘‘Metaphorming’’ comes from the Greek words meta and phora: transcending and transference. It begins with transferring new meanings and associations from one subject to another. We all do this every day on a simple level when we think in metaphors and similes. But this idea expands beyond metaphor to encompass all aspects of associative thinking. It continually creates new connections by using...

Hosted by the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership and the Balboa Park Learning Institute. Partners: Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination, UCSD Association of Women in Science Biomimicry San Diego Cal State San Marcos California Center for Sustainable Energy CalIT2 / Qualcomm Institute Clairemont Community of Schools Comisión Estatal de Servicios Públicos de Tijuana CONNECT El Trompo, Children’s Interactive Museum, Tijuana Elementary Institute of Science FabLab Friends of Balboa Park Girl Scouts IDEA District Kumeyaay.com Maker Faire San Diego Maritime Alliance Old Globe Theatre Proyecto Fronterizo, Tijuana Reuben H. Fleet Science Center San Diego Air & Space Museum San Diego County Office of Education San Diego County Water Authority San Diego Museum of Art San Diego Natural History Museum San Diego Unified School District San Diego Youth Symphony SDSU Center for Research in Math & Science Education SDSU School of Sciences STEAM Connect Tijuana Innovadora UCSD Sixth College US Department of State World Resources SIM Center   San Diego Incubator Participants’ Organizations To...