The environmental or "green" movement has been growing in popularity for years and is likely to continue growing in the future, so a mixed media art project focused on environmentalism would be ideal for earth-conscious, middle school students. Have students bring in various recyclable items from their homes such as bottles, cans, boxes, old electronics and whatever else they wish to contribute and come up with a sculpture idea that combines all of the materials. The students could use paints, papier mache, clay, adhesives and other art supplies to bring the sculpture together. Students could also organize the sculpture around a certain environmental theme, such as electronic waste, river cleaning or air pollution.
Middle school students could also create collages that reflect their various cultural heritages. The students could bring in different items, such as clothing, artifacts, pictures, literature and musical instruments and put them together into a interactive collage or mural to be presented to the school. The students could even incorporate video and other electronic media into the collage. This project would be very appropriate for an International Day or similar celebration.
In conjunction with a history or social studies course, a middle school art program could have students organize a multimedia art project centered around some historical event that they are currently studying. The students could create a three-dimensional display of a World War II battle scene complete with sound, paintings, video and other items. Additionally, the students could create a mural of the events of the 1960s using authentic posters, old vinyl records and popular items from the 60s.
There are many other mixed media projects that are appropriate for middle schoolers. In fact, just about any topic can be represented as a mixed media artpiece. Students could create an art project on fashion in the 1990s using real clothes and magazine ads, a project on foods of Italy using real food samples, a project about George Washington using a cardboard cherry tree and a mannequin in a Washington costume or any number of ideas.