More Than Just a Pretty Space
Sprout Space: Exhibition Object Meets Working Classroom
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It’s rare for an exhibition to feature a fully functioning, life-size building—even here at the National Building Museum! However, with the Sprout Space™ classroom, part of Green Schools, we have just that. Sprout Space, designed by architecture firm Perkins+Will, is a healthy, sustainable, flexible, and modular 21st century classroom, stationed outdoors on the Museum’s West Lawn for the rest of the year.
Since Green Schools opened in March, Sprout Space has been used by 37 of the Museum’s visiting school groups (adding up to 897 students and 202 parents and teachers!) in the Museum’s City by Design and Green by Design school programs. Visiting schools hail from homeschool groups as well as public, charter, and private schools from the District of Columbia and nearby counties including Arlington, Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William, Montgomery, Prince George's, Calvert, and Howard.
In both the City by Design and Green by Design programs, students in grades K-9 are introduced to the concepts of planning, design, and sustainability, becoming architects as they create model buildings out of craft and recyclable materials. Museum educators and visiting classroom teachers love using Sprout Space as the teaching tool it was designed to be. For example, the modular building sports rain water cisterns, clerestory windows, and solar panels. After exploring these important features, students are then challenged to create mini versions of what they have seen in Sprout Space on their own buildings; they make water cisterns out of empty yogurt containers, windows out of pipe cleaners, and solar panels out of aluminum foil.
One class from the Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland was even lucky enough to have a visit from Sprout Space’s lead architect, Allen Post of Perkins+Will. He explained the research and design behind the structure’s green features before the students created their own model green buildings.
Of her students’ Sprout Space experience, one teacher from Washington, D.C.’s Beauvoir School wrote: “All of the parent chaperones, as well as teachers, were delighted and impressed with this experience. We loved being in Sprout Space and [we had] a fantastic facilitator and instructor. It was the highlight of the week for all of my students. Thank you!”
Sprout Space will continue to be used for school programs from September through December of 2013. Find more information on bringing your school group or homeschool students to the National Building Museum.
