Educator Workshops

Educators are invited to join Museum staff throughout the year to learn about incorporating sustainable design, design education, architecture, etc. into classroom curricula. The hands-on workshops offer educators a variety of opportunities to learn by doing. For more information about attending or organizing Educator Workshops contact the School & Youth Groups Manager. For more information about the Museum's curriculum kits please contact the National Curricula Coordinator.

Past Workshops

Green Community Teaching Kit Educator Workshop

Educators learned how to bring city planning and "green" building concepts into your classroom at this educator workshop. Museum staff modeled lesson plans, demonstrated teaching tools and explored materials from Green Community, the National Building Museum's classroom-ready curriculum kit. Each participating teacher received a Green Community Teaching Kit ($110 value) at no cost.

The Green Community Teaching Kit is recommended for teachers of students in grades 5-8. 

Students plan a green city during a lesson from the Green Community Teaching Kit

Photo by Kevin Allen

Bridge Basics: Engineering FUNdamentals Through Bridge Design and Construction

Educators learned about the fundamental engineering concepts behind bridge building. Then working in groups with other teachers designed and built their own bridge and, as students would, developed problem solving and collaborative work skills. Museum staff modeled some of the lesson plans, teaching tools, and materials which are part of the Bridge Basics Program Kit.

Teaching American History: The Power of Place

This full-day workshop used the Museum’s historic building and the exhibition Washington: Symbol and City to explore how buildings help communicate the stories of the past. During this workshop educators learned how to "read" architecture and explored how some of the symbolic buildings of Washington, D.C. have contributed to a sense of place and national identity.

IWWL participants explore DC through the lens of a camera.

Photo by Museum staff

Teaching through the Design Lens: Investigating Where We Live

Educators joined staff from the National Building Museum and Turning the Page to explore how teachers can use concepts from the Museum's Investigating Where We Live (IWWL) program and the Literacy Through Photography (LTP) program in their own classrooms. In both programs, students use photography, oral histories, and creative writing to explore their communities and then design an exhibition.