For Immediate Release: November 5, 2012
Media Contact: Marketing and Communication Department
Homeschool Day
Homeschool students learn about architecture, engineering, and design on a field trip to the National Building Museum
WHAT
At the National Building Museum, homeschool students ages 4-14 can explore the people, processes, and materials that create buildings and places by becoming city planners, designers, and engineers. They will experience the same hands-on programs that are offered to school groups throughout the year. This year a number of new programs will debut at Homeschool Day including Frieze Stories, Engineering Egg Drop, and Design Your Dream House.
Homeschool Days at the National Building Museum inspire students to examine the buildings, places, and structures around them. Students identify problems, investigate situations, and use their creativity to imagine solutions. They construct plans or models to test out ideas and think critically as they evaluate their final products.
Each Homeschool Day offers a selection of programs. The upcoming November Homeschool Day will offer the following programs:
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City by Design: Students become city planners for the day as they design their own model city. Students consider the problems a city can have and offer solutions by planning their own community. They use their imaginations to design and construct model buildings for the city using colorful supplies and recycled materials.
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Washington: Symbol and City: As the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., and its buildings act as national symbols. Students explore a Museum exhibition to learn about Washington and its symbolic architecture. Students then design their own symbolic buildings for the National Mall.
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Fuller’s Fantastic Geodesic Dome: Buckminster Fuller is best known for developing the structurally innovative geodesic dome. Students learn about engineering principles as they explore different roofing structures and the interlocking systems of triangles used to construct geodesic domes.
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My House, My Home: Students learn about the process of building a house through story, pictures, and an exploration of the Museum’s building. Students construct their own house out of colorful craft materials and look at photographs from around the world to see the common features of all homes.
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Be a Green Builder: Students become carpenters and use power screwdrivers to raise the roof and wall frames as they assemble an 8’ x 11’ house in one of the Museum’s classrooms. While building, they learn about the hidden features that support buildings: foundations, frames, and trusses. Students are also introduced to sustainable “green” building materials and choices.
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Drawing on History Tour: Students gather clues about the National Building Museum's historic building and its connection to the Civil War by looking closely at the building. Through guided sketching activities that reveal the hidden history of the building, students investigate its structure, function, and past and begin to see the built environment in new ways. Each student will take home a sketchpad with their drawings.
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Frieze Stories: Students learn about the elements of a story, including characters, setting, and plot. Students then learn the story of the National Building Museum and of the Civil War by looking at the frieze around the Museum’s exterior. Students then tell the story of their families by creating friezes for their houses out of clay. Students will take home their friezes.
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Engineering Egg Drop: Students learn about the process engineers use to bring new ideas to life. Students are then given an engineering problem to solve: how can they get a dropped raw egg safely from the Museum’s second floor balcony to the first floor carpet without breaking? Students then get two attempts to design a structure to keep their egg safe during its drop—using only one sheet of paper and a rubber band!
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Design Your Dream House: Students learn how to do four types of architectural drawings: elevation, floor plan, section, and one-point perspective. After practicing these drawing techniques with green peppers, students then brainstorm ideas for their dream houses. Students then draw an elevation and floor plan of their dream houses. Students will take home their drawings.
These interactive programs complement curricula in math, science, social studies, language, music, and art. These programs accommodate children ages 4-14 and a range of ability levels and learning styles, and they encourage teamwork and problem-solving skills.
WHERE
National Building Museum
401 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
(Judiciary Square Metro, Red Line)
The $10 per child cost covers one child’s participation in one program. There is no cost for adults to participate in the programs. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferrable.
If families would like to visit the Museum’s exhibitions before or after the Homeschool Day programs, discounted exhibition tickets may be purchased online during pre-registration or on the day of your visit. The cost is $3 per participating student and $5 per adult and/or tag-a-long sibling.
Register at go.nbm.org/homeschool.
WHEN
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
10 am–3 pm
SPONSOR
The National Building Museum’s school programs are funded, in part, by generous grants from The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Clark Charitable Foundation; The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.; and The Tower Companies, among others. Additional support for special projects is provided by James G. Davis Construction Corporation for Be a Green Builder and National Endowment for the Arts: Art Works for Green Community Teaching Kits.
The National Building Museum is America’s leading cultural institution dedicated to advancing the quality of the built environment by educating people about its impact on their lives. Through its exhibitions, educational programs, online content, and publications, the Museum has become a vital forum for the exchange of ideas and information about the world we build for ourselves. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448 or visit www.nbm.org. Connect with us on Twitter: @BuildingMuseum and Facebook.
