Teens & Young Adults

The National Building Museum showcases achievements in architecture, design, planning, construction, and engineering. Youth programs at the National Building inspire students to examine the people, processes, and materials that create buildings and places. As part of its mission, the Museum has created in-depth, multi-week education programs to teach middle and high school students, ages 12 to 18, from the Washington, D.C. metro area, to use the built environment as a classroom for developing skills in critical and creative thinking, problem solving, analysis, evaluation, and teamwork. The Museum has three outreach programs:

CityVision students and staff explore the Penn Quarter neighborhood. Photo by Museum staff		CityVision CityVision is a semester-long program that prepares students to become active participants in shaping their communities. The program provides fundamental knowledge of the design process to approximately 70 middle and junior high school students each year. Since its inception in 1993, CityVision has encouraged more than 900 young people to identify issues of concern in their communities and develop the skills to affect positive change. Learn more.
IWWL participants explore DC through the lens of a camera. Photo by Museum staff		Investigating Where We Live (IWWL) Investigating Where We Live (IWWL) is a four-week summer program in which students interpret Washington, D.C. neighborhoods through photography and creative writing. Each summer, approximately 25 students spend their Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays exploring neighborhoods and developing an exhibition to be on view at the Museum. Since its inception in 1996, IWWL has encouraged more than 250 students to critically examine the built environment in their communities and express themselves through the creative arts. For a recap of the IWWL 2009 program from the students perspective and IWWL staff thoughts go to the IWWL 2009 blog. Learn more.
A DAP student focuses, as he assembles a wooden chair. Photo by Museum staff		Design Apprenticeship Program (DAP) Created in 2000, the Design Apprenticeship Program (DAP) builds upon the Museum's two other outreach programs, CityVision and Investigating Where We Live. Each year, approximately 50 previous outreach program participants are joined by other experienced middle and high school students to design and construct a project of their own conception. To date, DAP has served more than 200 students between the ages of 12 and 18. Learn more.

Want to participate in CityVision, IWWL, or DAP? Learn how you can get involved.

Are you interested in helping youth learn about design and the built environment? Find out you can help.

Are you a parent or a teacher interested in learning more about our outreach programs? Contact us.

Are you between the ages of 10 and 18 and enjoy leading tours or would like to learn how? Check out our new Junior Docent Program.

Junior Docent Program (for ages 10-18)

Become a Junior Docent!
The National Building Museum's Junior Docent Program is designed to provide young learners from ages 10-18 with the skills necessary to discover and connect with architecture by leading tours of the Museum's historic home. Our museum educators will use an inquiry-based approach to teach our Junior Docents the skills needed to describe, analyze, and interpret architecture. When training is complete, the Junior Docents will use the same approach to engage young museum visitors in a conversation about architecture; encourage young learners to think in new directions about architecture and its relationship to their own lives; increase their ability to discover and derive meaning from architecture; and help them build their own interpretation of the world around them.

Training: Junior Docents will be required to participate in five training sessions from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm on the following weekdays:

Thursday, July 8, 2010: Introduction to the Museum
Thursday, July 15, 2010: Architecture: What does it Mean to You?
Thursday, July 22, 2010: Understanding the Tour Process and Testing it Out
Thursday, July 29, 2010: Writing Your Tour
Thursday, August 5, 2010: Testing Your Tour

Once training is completed, Junior Docents will have three months for self-study. After self-study, Junior Docents will test their tour in front of a live museum audience.  Junior Docents are asked to lead one tour per month. 

For more information on the Junior Docent program, contact Kristi Cotner, Director of Visitor Services at 202.272.2448, ext. 3408 or email kcotner@nbm.org.

Take a Junior Docent Tour
Take a tour of the Museum's historic home led by its newest, and youngest, group of docents—the Junior Docents, who range in age from 10 to 18. If you are interested in taking a museum tour led by a Junior Docent, please click here.