ABSTRACT
Contemporary research on outdoor schooling suggests that natural environments stimulate perceptual processes and the generation of ideas critical to basic science activities in school. Through the lens of the 4Es, these effects are part of the bodily interactions and the embeddedness in natural environments. Given the emphasis on perceptual activity, other perceptually engaging activities—like experiencing artworks—could potentially be effective in ways similar to that of nature. This chapter addresses the experiences of nature-like artworks from the perspective of perceptual processes and capacities for idea generation in view of the embodied and the extended mind. Two cases from fieldwork made at the Light and Space exhibition at Copenhagen Contemporary are used to explore whether experiences of nature-like art could induce perceptual processes of value to education in general and science education in particular. The discussion elaborates on perceptual processes that either highlight the anatomy of nature or the human condition, as well as the reinforcing impact of embodiment on the ability to remember an experience.
