For Immediate Release: April 27, 2008
Media Contacts: Sara Kabakoff

DAP Receives 2008 Excellence in Programming Award from AAM

The National Building Museum is very proud to announce that its Design Apprenticeship Program (DAP) has been awarded the 2008 Excellence in Programming Award, a national competition given by the American Association of Museum's Committee on Education. This award recognizes exemplary creativity and innovation in museum educational programming.

Created in 2000, the Design Apprenticeship Program builds upon the National Building Museum's two other long-standing outreach programs, CityVision and Investigating Where We Live (IWWL). Each year, approximately 50 returning outreach program participants are joined by other design-experienced middle and high school students from Washington, DC and the surrounding metropolitan area to design and construct a project of their own conception. To date, DAP has served over 225 students between the ages of 12 and 18.

Two DAP programs are offered each year. Each semester, approximately 25 students are provided with a design challenge which they must complete within a set of design criteria over six-seven consecutive Saturdays. Students work with professional designers, museum educators, and mentors to develop their projects. They learn to work with different kinds of materials, many of which are sustainable, and are introduced to fundamental design concepts within a team environment. At the end of the project their work is publicly exhibited in the Museum and/or in a community venue.

The award jury noted that the program “certainly merits this national recognition as a model program and model outreach to young audiences.” The award will be presented at this year’s annual American of Association of Museum’s conference in Denver, Colorado – the largest meeting of museum professionals in the country. Past awardees have included the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.

The National Building Museum is America’s leading cultural institution dedicated to exploring and celebrating architecture, design, engineering, construction, and planning. Chartered by Congress in 1980 and open to the public since 1985, the Museum has become a vital forum for exchanging ideas and information about the built environment through its exhibitions, education programs, and publications. The Museum is located at 401 F Street NW, Washington, D.C. Museum hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. Admission is free. Museum Shop. Café. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448 or visit www.nbm.org.