NBM - Curriculum Kits

In November 2011 I collaborated with the National Building Museum as part of the US Department of Education's International Education Week (IEW) program. This collaboration involved a simultaneous completion of the Museum's Green Community Teaching Kit by my students, at Strathfield South High School and students of Thurgood Marshall Academy in Washington DC.

I ran the project over 10 weeks, but could have gone longer and involved Yr 7 and 8 students (Design Technology is mandatory in these years) and Yr 9 and 10 Graphics Technology students ( a 200hr elective subject). Students through analyzing the fictitious town of Grayville were introduced to the basics of urban planning.

They went on to explore the principles of sustainable communities by the investigation of real life towns and cities and examination of green buildings and sustainable technologies. These concepts helped them to re-plan Grayville and turn it into a livable, green community named Greenville.

The program engaged the students throughout and provided a wonderful opportunity for them to increase their understanding of sustainability issues, design, heritage and urban planning.  Students also researched clean energy alternatives and sustainable architecture as well as visiting community gardens and analysing their local neighbourhood.

The Green Community Kit (Grades 5-8) is the second kit produced by the National Building Museum and joins the Bridge Basics Program Kit (Grades 5-9) which uses bridge engineering and design as vehicles for exploring and solving problems. Both kits could be used and adapted to suit any Technology class from Yr 5-12 including Yr 7/8 Technology Mandatory, Yr 9/10 Graphics or as an introduction to senior Engineering classes.

I hope to spend time working on an Australian version of the Green Community Kit while here in the US and also observe the NBM's Teacher Workshops for this kit. The third kit in the series is a program titled, Designing for Disaster which is currently under development.

All Curriculum Kits are available through the National Building Museum's website: 
http://www.nbm.org/schools-educators/educators/curriculum-kits.html

Renwick Gallery - 40 under 40 Exhibition

 

The Renwick's Second Empire-style building, a National Historic Landmark, was designed by architect James Renwick Jr. in 1859 and completed in 1874.

The gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and features one of the finest collections of American craft in the United States. Its collections, exhibition program and publications highlight the best craft objects and decorative arts from the 19th century to the present.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, as first lady, was instrumental in restoring the building to its former glory in the late 60s, reopening to the public in 1972.

The current exhibition 40 under 40, celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Renwick as well as examining the expanding role of the handmade in contemporary culture. All artists were born since 1972, the year the gallery opened to the public.

Erik Demaine
One of the many highlights of the exhibition included the paper folding of mathematician/ glassblower/artist, Dr Erik Demaine, a professor of computer science at MIT, who at age twenty was hired as the youngest faculty member in the history of the institution.
For more of his work go to:
http://erikdemaine.org/



 


Christy Oates
On Feb 1st 2013 I attended an inspirational presentation at the Renwick Gallery by designer Christy Oates, part of the 40 under 40 exhibition. Oates is a furniture designer/maker, based in San Diego and working predominantly with laser cut plywood.

Folding Furniture

Her folding furniture series was developed while she was still a graduate student and is a response to life in a small apartment. The series includes chairs, stools, tables and lamps that all store flat against the when not in use.

The E-Waste Project

The E-Waste Project was inspired by a visit to an electronic waste recycling facility. Oates shot photographs of computer waste then cropped an image of assorted circuit boards to use as a repeating pattern.

http://vimeo.com/22427141
 

Kaleidoscope Algorithm
Her series Kaleidoscope Algorithm is based on computer image manipulation algorithms translated to wood marquetry. The series of 30 artworks are based on images from corresponding top Google search trends for each day in September 2011. Each segment of the trend image is divided into six corresponding veneers from dark to light.

For more of her work go to:
http://christyoates.com

2013 Presidential Inauguration

The Inauguration could not be ignored, it was much more than a day. It consumed the city for weeks prior to Monday January 21 2013, with talk of road closures, fencing, bunting, buttons, tshirts, whether or not you had a ticket to the Parade or Ball or were resigned to watching all day coverage from home.

On the 19th we ventured downtown to soak up the atmosphere before all roads were closed off.

2,500 portaloos, all locked

                                                        

permanent public seating around the Capitol building

                                            

How to stand out in a crowd. Red mink hat and mink coat bought for the last Inauguration in 2009.

The National Building Museum - Washington DC

The impressive Great Hall, entrance to The National Building Museum and host for my Australian Endeavour Executive Award from Jan - May 2013.

The National Building Museum is considered America's premier cultural institution for public programming, youth education and exhibitions about the built environment; including but not limited to: engineering, architecture, construction and planning.

Go to Link:
http://www.nbm.org/
for all programs, exhibitions and resources

Homeschool Day - students test their egg packaging from the first floor

The education department within the Museum produces a range of programs for field experts and the general public, including preschool and school aged students and their teachers.

Temporary exhibits are staged in galleries around the Great Hall and have highlighted everything from innovation in parking garages to green building and sustainable design, architects and tools as art.

The Grand Hall is over 6,000 square metres in size and is used as a meeting point for school groups, an education space for building and testing and rented out for private functions.

The education department is located on the 4th floor, reached by walking along a narrow walkway with an original handrail at 900mm. In the 1980s an additional handrail was added to raise the height to 1100mm, which makes little difference if you suffer from vertigo.

 

The Museum is located downtown, off the Mall, adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Judiciary Square Metro. It's housed in the former Pension Bureau that dates back to 1887 and has been the site of sixteen Presidential Inaugural balls but alas, not this year.

Current Exhibitions

There are two impressive and moving photography exhibitions, both on the decline of the city of Detroit.

Detroit Is No Dry Bones

Photographs by Camilo José Vergara

September 30, 2012 - February 18, 2013

http://www.nbm.org/exhibitions-collections/exhibitions/detroit-is-no-dry-bones.html


 
Former Michigan Central Station, View from Dalzelle Street at 15th Street, Detroit, 2010
Credit: Photo © Camilo José Vergara

and

Detroit Disassembled

Photographs by Andrew Moore

September 30, 2012 - February 18, 2013

http://www.nbm.org/exhibitions-collections/exhibitions/detroit-disassembled.html

 

Andrew Moore, Birches growing in decayed books, Detroit Public Schools Book Depository, 2009, digital chromogenic print scanned from film negative, 62 x 97.5 in., Collection of Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell
Credit: Andrew Moore

Another great exhibition on at the moment:

House & Home 

April 28, 2012 - May 1, 2017 

http://www.nbm.org/exhibitions-collections/exhibitions/house-and-home.html 

'An array of photographs, objects, models, and films that takes us on a tour of houses both familiar and surprising, through past and present, challenging our ideas about what it means to be at home in America'.



Of particular interest for students and teachers are the walls made from materials used in residential construction ranging from adobe bricks to structural insulated panels (SIPs).

 

In another gallery, a large-scale two-screen film presentation takes visitors inside a variety of contemporary architect-designed homes. In the final gallery, interviews with developers, contractors, residents, and real-estate agents give visitors a different kind of look at six communities.