The authors investigate how teaching art and astronomy together has the potential to inspire new art forms, enhance scientific public outreach, and promote art and science education. The authors teach an astroanimation class at the Maryland Institute College of Art in partnership with NASA scientists. The animations explore science in creative ways. Astrophysicists, educators, students, and the general public were surveyed to evaluate the experiences and benefits from this project. The responses were very positive—the program is an effective way to stimulate art students to learn science, share an artist’s viewpoint beyond the classroom, and engage with the public.

Undergraduate animation students at the Maryland Institute College of Art teamed up with scientists from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to produce a set of animations on several astronomy topics. Here, the authors describe the process and discuss the results, educational benefits and the cross-cultural experience. These animations are available for free online.