Kaohsiung Zhongshan Institute of Technology Foundation—Excellent Meals and Arts Showcase

In line with our philosophy of prioritizing students' aesthetic appreciation, our school offers a revised elective course in "Arts and Mathematics," in line with the 2011 curriculum. This course aims to enhance students' appreciation of life's aesthetics, inductive thinking, and logical reasoning. In the 2011 academic year, we further applied to join the Ministry of Education's Interdisciplinary Aesthetic Education Program, exploring the integration of general knowledge concepts with vocational college courses. This program, "Catering Excellence," explores the practical application of abstract mathematical concepts within the catering department's professional curriculum, extending a diverse perspective on aesthetic and artistic expression. Building on this foundation, and integrating expert advice, student feedback, and discussions with the faculty team, the program integrated the findings of the 2011-2011 interdisciplinary aesthetic education curriculum with the "Spatial Portal" exhibition to build foundational understanding in mathematics and art. The program also incorporated multicultural education topics in terms of emotional and cultural context, inviting diverse overseas students to share their diverse cultural characteristics with local students. Furthermore, the program engaged students in discussions on the SDGs' green economy and sustainable food security, stimulating discussion and dialogue. Regarding skills, while art was central to all courses, the program also integrated art, mathematics, electrical engineering, and horticulture skills into the curriculum for the mechanical and electrical engineering and food service majors. Through discussions with program advisors, the program focused on the concept of "vision," engaging with partner schools at different learning levels and developing a model interdisciplinary aesthetic education curriculum. This was promoted through a public exhibition, which attracted over 2,000 students and teachers and garnered media coverage, allowing the program's effectiveness to be amplified and enhanced through informal instruction. The program is organized into four major areas, as described below.

(I) Ai Xue's Polyhedral Space (First Semester)
The guided tour of the "Space Door" exhibition guides students to explore different aspects of space through displays. The artist Escher's series of works then cut into the relationship between space and three-dimensional shapes, introducing the Platonic solids in the work "Stars". Students are guided to observe the different three-dimensional shapes that appear in Escher's paintings, such as regular polyhedrons, truncated semi-cubes, and star-shaped rhombus dodecahedrons. Students are also allowed to observe how the artist creates a variety of magical and tilted senses of space. After visiting the exhibition, guide students to try to use sketch pencils and cardboard cutting and pasting to draw the Penrose triangle, and guide students to explore the virtual and real experience that what you see is not necessarily true.
(II) Spatial Magic of Solid Sections (First and Second Semester)
Continuing from the exhibition and spatial experience from last semester, students were assigned to work in groups to assemble polyhedrons, exploring the relationship between solid form and three-dimensional space. Next, the class task of studying cube cross-sections was introduced. Students were asked to first imagine the cross-sectional shapes and then experiment with cutting different cross-sections using carrots. After experimenting with cutting, GeoGebra was introduced, guiding students to observe different cube cross-sections, record the shapes from different angles and directions, and apply vegetable and fruit carving techniques to create different cross-sectional shapes in their fruit and vegetable carving projects. With this experience in cross-sections, the "Escher Polyhedron" from Escher's work "Waterfall" was introduced. Students were instructed to assemble a star-shaped rhombus dodecahedron using origami, then cut out the Escher polyhedron shape using carrots for comparison. Finally, SDG 12, addressing food waste, was introduced, encouraging students to consider how to select the appropriate parts of fruits and vegetables for carving to avoid waste. Students were asked to discuss possible uses for leftovers from carving and propose a zero-food-waste project to implement in practical lessons.
The next semester's curriculum will integrate resources from the Horticulture Department's internship farm, focusing on food and agriculture education and developing a cross-disciplinary community learning program. In the morning, Food and Beverage students will visit the Horticulture Department's internship farm to learn about the cultivation process of non-toxic fruits and vegetables. With assistance from Horticulture students, they can experience picking fruits firsthand, understanding environmentally friendly production methods and implementing the values of sustainable agriculture as outlined in SDG 2. In the afternoon, Horticulture students will join the Food and Beverage Department classroom for a fruit and vegetable carving course. Using fresh fruits and vegetables picked that day, they will create creative plating arrangements, showcasing the journey from farm to table. This process not only deepens students' understanding of the origins of their food but also reinforces their awareness of SDG 12's responsible consumption and sustainable resource use through hands-on practice, thus embodying the diverse value of food and agriculture education.
(III) Multicultural Geometric Lighting (Second Semester)
Overseas Chinese students from various countries were invited to share their unique lantern designs for festivals, analyzing the fundamental geometric structures underlying each type of lantern. Students visited general studies classes to introduce festivals like the star lanterns of Vietnam's Mid-Autumn Festival, Thailand's Loy Krathong, the Philippine Christmas star lanterns, and Indonesia's Ramadan lanterns, sharing in-depth insights into the meaning of each country's festivals and lantern culture. Subsequent courses encouraged students to continue their home country's traditions and develop creative lantern designs with cultural significance. General studies students were guided to explore the geometric properties of three-dimensional lanterns, applying the principles of regular polyhedrons to lampshade design. They also integrated electromechanical laser cutting technology, combining design and craftsmanship in the electromechanical integration workshop to create their own geometric lanterns. Finally, the practical and aesthetic lanterns, used in everyday life, were publicly displayed in an exhibition, demonstrating the educational achievements of cultural integration and cross-disciplinary innovation.
(IV) Food Design with Illusionistic Modeling (Second Semester)
The Food Design series of courses is divided into two main areas: Egg Illusionary Cuisine and Non-Periodic Gingerbread. To develop the color skills of food and beverage students, the course initially features watercolor color mixing exercises, guiding them to master fundamental principles such as the three primary colors and value variations. Through practical color mixing exercises, students gradually master color mixing techniques. They observe the color characteristics of various fruits and vegetables, such as the red of tomatoes, the green of avocados, and the purple of eggplants, and experiment with matching colors, laying a solid foundation for subsequent illusory culinary creations. Next, students will apply their color knowledge to further explore natural dyeing techniques, comparing natural dyes with artificial colorings and understanding the safety and application principles of food colors. The creative portion uses eggs as a base, combining dyeing and molding techniques with detailed design, such as stems, to create realistic fruit and vegetable shapes, presenting creative dishes with illusory effects. This course not only enhances students' color sensitivity and aesthetic expression, but also cultivates their observation and creativity in the application of natural ingredients and food design.
The non-periodic tessellation gingerbread course focuses on the cross-disciplinary integration of mathematics, art, and the food service industry. Starting with Escher's periodic tessellation work, students are guided to observe lizard puzzles and design principles, developing creative and aesthetically pleasing graphic compositions. Through hands-on drawing and composition, students cultivate visual thinking and aesthetic judgment, demonstrating the core competencies of "systematic thinking and problem-solving." This course further extends to the visual modeling food design course, introducing the non-periodic tessellation pattern "Einstein Brick - Hat," published in 2023. Incorporating gingerbread making techniques, students are guided to use molds to transform mathematical concepts into concrete baked goods. Through the creative process, students learn to proactively explore and apply knowledge and skills across domains, demonstrating an "independent action" learning attitude. They also cultivate the ability to communicate and interact through group discussions and sharing, comprehensively enhancing their aesthetic expression and practical design skills.