- October 23, 2026
- By College of Arts and Humanities Staff
A program providing affordable outdoor equipment to foster active play. A multimedia musical drawing on the aesthetics of Jim Henson Studios in the 1980s. A fairy village workshop encouraging participants to connect with loved ones across space and time.
These are among the seven projects selected for Henson Week Mini-Grants, a new funding opportunity honoring the legacy of University of Maryland alums Jim ’60 and Jane ’55 Henson. Presented by Arts for All and the Office of Innovation within the Division of Research, the grants provide up to $500 in seed funding to individual students, student groups or staff who want to explore an idea, test a novel approach or initiate a project that sparks creativity, fosters collaboration or impacts the community.
All recipients took part in at least one of the 50 Henson Week events across campus Sept. 20-26 in celebration of the theme “Create. Make. Play.” The Office of Innovation team will support awardees in connecting with resources across campus to help them refine and further develop their idea.
Learn more about the recipients and their projects:
Students
mei bowyer, a Ph.D. candidate in urban education, will bring together archival recovery and speculative storytelling at a collaborative workshop. Participants will use creative experimentation to reimagine how we engage the past and present while envisioning the future.
Katherine Macyshyn, a master’s student in studio art, will develop M(vs+ic)TV, a multimedia musical that draws on the aesthetics of the 1980s Jim Henson Studios, to support inner child healing and reparenting. She will record three to five original songs with percussionist Steve Bloom as part of the project.
Student Organizations
The Biosensors Vertically Integrated Projects team based in the Office of Undergraduate Research will develop a portable, low-cost dengue detection system prototype for communities with limited laboratory resources. Its prototype combines DNA amplification with a paper test strip for an easy-to-read result.
Terrapin Think Tank in the School of Public Health will develop Park in a Box, a pilot for affordable outdoor equipment that will increase youth physical activity. Members, led by Zoe Razunguzwa ’28, will facilitate activities while allowing children to experiment, collaborate and develop their own ideas for movement.
Staff
Katherine Brandt, Arts for All programming coordinator, will create Sara’s Fairy Village, a one-day community artwork project. Using natural sustainably sourced materials, participants will create a tiny world of woodland cottages and winding paths. Participants can also leave messages for someone they miss, connecting with those separated by oceans, time or silence.
Amy Chester, assistant dean, professional graduate education in the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences, will work with teachers at University Park Elementary School to inspire creativity and career exploration for students through an outdoor community mural highlighting stories of successful alums.
Erica Estrada-Liou, director of the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, will collaborate with teachers and staff at College Park Academy to bring innovation skills into middle school classrooms through a sock-puppet-making module.