Where would an orangutan like his bed? Does a tiger need personal space?  What kind of exercise equipment does a macaw like?  Students will investigate questions of this sort as they design habitats for animals and explore the client/architect relationship. After planning and designing a habitat for an animal, students will build model habitats to take home.

As the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. is both a city of residents and a national symbol. During this program students investigate how some of Washington D.C.'s monuments and memorials are examples of symbolic architecture. Through this exploration, students learn about the history of D.C. then become architects as they design their own symbolic building for the National Mall. Prepare your student for this program with pre-visit lessons.

Students learn about the importance of patterns in the buildings and world around them. On a scavenger hunt of the Museum's building, students identify shapes and patterns by examining the walls, floors, and ceiling of the Museum. After investigating the Museum building, students head to a museum classroom to create patterns in individual booklets with a variety of materials. Prepare your student for this program with pre-visit lessons.

Students engage in observation, drawing, and math exercises to build the skills crucial to being an architect: model-making, architectural drafting, and communication. During the program, students will also visit one of the Museum's exhibitions as an introduction to the work of architectural creation. Students will not visit the PLAY WORK BUILD exhibition as in previous years.

Where would an orangutan like his bed? Does a tiger need personal space?  What kind of exercise equipment does a macaw like?  Students will investigate questions of this sort as they design habitats for animals and explore the client/architect relationship. After planning and designing a habitat for an animal, students will build model habitats to take home.

In this program, students will learn through doing about the awesome power of water pressure and how civil engineers have utilized it over time. Students will work in small groups to create miniature architectural features that transport water over distances, and shoot water the farthest possible distance. Using what they have learned, students will then design and build PVC pipe fountains. Students may get slightly wet during this class.