StudentDay@theCenter
Student Days are two hour workshops for K-12 school groups (30 students max) visiting the Center for Architecture. Programs are adapted to meet the abilities of different age groups. Recommended ages are noted. Program cost is $250 per workshop M - F; $275 on weekends. 1-hour exhibition tours are $100.
THE LANGUAGE OF ARCHITECTURE (grades K - 6)
Students will learn how to ‘read’ buildings for clues about their design and function as they observe and sketch architectural elements through an interactive slide show or neighborhood walk (weather permitting May - October). Using these new concepts, students will then design their own building facades.
STRUCTURES AND STRENGTH: SKYSCRAPERS or BRIDGES (grades 2 - 12)
You may select the engineering and design of skyscrapers or bridges for the focus of this hands-on workshop. Students will learn about the forces at work in these structures and create their own structural models, learning about the balance between the arts and sciences in skyscraper and bridge construction.
GREEN BUILDINGS (grades 3 - 12)
Students work with our modified version of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) checklist to create a model of a green structure. The checklist will challenge students to think about the importance of site planning, improving energy efficiency, conserving materials and resources, enhancing indoor environmental quality, and capturing rain and gray water for reuse.
SCALE MODEL BUILDING grades (3 - 12)
In this program, students hone their measurement and math skills as they create their own scale building models. Students create ½” = 1’ scale rulers and scale figures and use these to design and build their own scale apartment models and furnishings. A fun way to enrich your math curriculum!
NEIGHBORHOOD DESIGN (grades 5 – 12)
Students work in groups to create a model of an ideal neighborhood based on planning and zoning guidelines. Students come to understand how neighborhoods develop and the complex factors that shape the growth of cities.
BUILD A GEODESIC DOME (grades 5 – 12)
The whole class participates in putting together a 14 foot geodesic dome, a unique structural form made famous by engineer and inventor Buckminster Fuller. Students build individual models to take home, based on the geometry of the dome. (At least four adults chaperones required.)
SKYSCRAPER MUSEUM / CENTER FOR ARCHITECTURE DUAL VISIT PROGRAM (grades K - 12)
The Center for Architecture Foundation has partnered with the Skyscraper Museum to provide a dual visit program; students begin with a 40-minute tour of the Skyscraper Museum in the morning; then head to the Center for Architecture for a 75-minute model building workshop. Students will build their own structural models of skyscrapers, experimenting with the stability and strength of different geometric shapes.
EXHIBIT PROGRAM (Grades K – 12)
1-hour Exhibit Tour is $100. 2-hour Exhibit Program Student Day ($250) includes an exhibit tour and related hands-on workshop.
Current Exhibition: Buildings = Energy
October 1, 2011 - January 21, 2012
Buildings in NYC are responsible for 75% of greehouse gas emissions and almost half of our energy use. Buildings = Energy explores ways to make our buildings more energy-effiicent, starting with smart design choces all the way to a building's use and reuse. Students will learn about sustainable design principles and ways of reducing energy use at home and school. Classes that choose to stay for the hands-on workshop will put these ideas to use designing an energy-efficient building of their own.