Years from now, when Jeffrey Menzin, 12, comes to Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, he’ll be able to point to the star that he made. "I think it’s going to be neat being a part of it," he said.
"The painting was really cool," agreed Patrick Roemer, 12.
Jeffrey and Patrick are two of the students at Colvin Run Elementary who painted a mural which the school has donated to Wolf Trap.
"People from all over the country and probably all over the world will enjoy this painting," said School Board Member Jane Strauss (Dranesville).
The school donated the mural to the park at a formal ceremony on Monday, May 16. The mural hangs in the tunnel under Trap Road which leads from the parking lot to the main part of the park. "This is a symbol of the blossoming friendship between two close neighbors," said Bill Crockett, park manager.
The entire student body, about 860 students, worked on the mural and contributed some brush strokes, said Sandra Furick, principal of Colvin Run. The collaborative effort became a little extreme in one case, Furick said, and one animal received a lot of attention. "Every time a new group came, the animal got changes," she said. It grew larger than it should have as each successive group added their touch to it.
Typically, the students would each have a different part of the mural to work on. Sixth-grade students, like Jeffrey and Patrick, each painted a star. The mural depicts animals native to the area frolicking in the moonlight and playing musical instruments.
The students named the mural "Woodland Serenade." The students did research about what sorts of animals that should appear in the mural. "It shows a playful perspective on the animals native to our area," Furick said.
"We’ve learned to take responsibility for the environment," said Jeffrey Cochran, 11, president of the Colvin Run Elementary student government. "We are proud of our connection with Wolf Trap."