A display of paintings by Strode Montessori Preschool students opened today at Capitol Modern: the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum. Strode Montessori Preschool classes visit Capitol Modern several times each year. This is the second year in which they have based their summer curriculum on artwork at Capitol Modern. In 2025, the summer integrated curriculum included responding to “Waikui” by Doug Young (the glass “pool” in the center of the Sculpture Garden), culminating in a mini-exhibit of student paintings at Capitol Modern. This year, their summer integrated curriculum theme of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was developed around themes of color, light, and artistic expression in response to “Trigger Picasso Energy” fused glass sculpture by Carol Bennett.
Students explored individual colors of the rainbow and learned about how rainbows are formed through the reflection and refraction of light. They experimented with a variety of artistic mediums, including printing and stamping, and then created original paintings in watercolor and acrylic. These paintings are now on display in the glass case next to the MORI shop on the ground floor through August 8, 2026.
Image description: closeup detail of artwork by student Mallory Thompson. Background is painted with watercolor in orange, pink, and turquoise. An assortment of shapes is printed over it in black.