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 Coordinator. For more information about the Museum's curriculum kits please contact the National Curricula Coordinator.
Exploring our Neighborhoods
August 18, 2012, 9:00 am to 3:30 pm
Join staff from the Washington Architectural Foundation and National Building Museum at the District Architecture Center to learn interdisciplinary strategies for enhancing curriculum by using local neighborhoods. The workshop includes an interactive architectural walking tour of Penn Quarter, a visit to Investigating Where We Live, the Museum's student-designed exhibition, and an opportunity to synthesize the information with a hands-on project. After the workshop, educators will be able to take their new knowledge back to their classrooms to implement a creative project in which students learn how to investigate, analyze, and interpret their surroundings. Register online through the Washington Architectural Foundation.
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.
Green Community Workshop
Educators learned how to bring city planning and “green” building concepts into their classrooms 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. The Green Community Teaching Kit is recommended for teachers of students in grades 5-8.
Educators from the National Building Museum have also partnered with staff from the U.S. Green Building Council and Earth Force to investigate how to incorporate environmental issues and ideas can be integrated into classroom curriculum.
Teaching American History: The Power of Place
This full-day workshop used the Museum’s historic buildng 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.
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.
