Steve and Lori McDonald are Park City-based artists who have their fingers in a lot of pies.

Steve was worked for Frog Design in the 1980s and was a product designer for the early Apple Computer. He now designs for Nike’s Innovation Kitchen and has worked as an architect. He’s also designed some products for Black Diamond and Burton Snowboards.

Lori, along with Steve, started the Soldier Hollow Charter School in Heber and is a photographer. She recently designed a new board game called Polar Eclipse, which gives players an idea of how climate change affects wildlife.

The couple, who own Faceplant Design and Turn 4 Turn, is among the first to have a week-long residency at the new Leonardo Science, Technology and Art Museum, 209 E. 500 South.

The residency, which features displays of the McDonalds’ respective works and workshops, will run from Oct. 19 through Oct. 24.

Steve McDonald spoke with The Park Record about their involvement with the Leonardo.

“The residency came from our friend Jann Haworth, co-designer of the Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’ album cover,” McDonald said. “She lives in Sundance and is part of the Leonardo. Through her, we got involved with the Leonardo early on and served as consultants and then they asked us to be one of the first residencies.”

An introductory workshop will feature McDonald giving an overview of his career.

“I’ll discuss some of the work I did for Nike and Black Diamond and Burton Snowboards,” he said. “I’ll also talk about our house in Park City, which is a sustainable, solar house I worked with (world-renowned) architect Angela Dean on.”

An additional workshop will feature the McDonalds explanation of the designing process.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to talk too much about the shoes I designed for Nike because I’m under contract with them and they are very strict about their products,” McDonald said. “We’ll still be able to talk about some other items I designed.”

The workshop will also cover the design and concept for the Polar Eclipse game, he said.

“When Lori taught art at Soldier Hollow Charter School, she wrote the charter, and part of it was to base the education on the environment,” McDonald said. “She felt the best way to teach kids was to interact with each other and so she structured this board game.”

The game is played back and forth on a chessboard-type layout and the object is to get all the pieces onto the cooler, purple side of the board, rather than in the yellow, warmer side.

“Some of the moves require players to draw a card and answer a question,” McDonald said. “Some of the questions have specific answers and others are open ended.

“It’s a great game for kids and adults to learn about climate change, without being too daunting.”

The Leonardo workshop is the general public’s introduction to the game.

“Lori has done a few game workshops with educators and environmental groups in Ogden and Salt Lake, but this will be the main launch of the idea,” said McDonald, who attended Art Center College in Pasadena, Calif. “It mixes creativity with education.”

The game, as well as other items designed by the McDonalds, will be on display at stations at the Leonardo, he said.

“People can play the game and we’ll have a lot of my past work up, like some shoes and snowboard boots, as well as works by Lori,” he said. “She’s an accomplished photographer and has photographed a lot of landscape, abstract and product-design photographs that have been in Newsweek and other publications.”

Art is an essential element for learning, McDonald said.

“I, personally, think it’s important to approach everything you do with creativity,” he said. “That teaches people to learn outside the box.”

Designers and educators Steve and Lori McDonald are on a six-day residency at the Leonardo Science, Technology and Art Museum, 209 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City.

The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday. Sunday hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Leonardo is closed Tuesdays. Admission ranges from $10 to $14. For more information, visit www.theleonardo.org.