by Hadley Beacham
Though the weather was dreary, 24 young architects did not let that impact their break from school this month as they participated in the Center for Architecture’s Studio@theCenter programs: three-day vacation camps designed for students who like to explore, create, and build.
This month, we invited elementary and middle school students (grades 3-8) to join us during the vacation break for a hands-on exploration of architecture. The elementary school students designed their dream house as they learned about scale, drew floor plans, and then entered into construction mode to build a 3-D model of their ideal home. The students designed homes for places all around the world, from Norway and Sweden, to Pennsylvania and Color Land, complete with amenities such as bowling alleys, basketball and tennis courts, science labs, and swimming pools. Meanwhile, our middle school architects were hard at work in our computer lab, designing and bringing to life an amusement park using SketchUp, a 3-D computer rendering program.
To celebrate their hard work, the students presented their final projects to parents on the final day of vacation camp. Parents commented that they “loved the team work among all the students and staff,” and stated that “the exposure to the path of an architect career is fantastic.” One parent noted: “I really liked the fact that my son used a blueprint and built a house according to the plan.”
These February programs kicked off this year’s camp offerings, but are only the start of the creative design opportunities that lie ahead. Studio@theCenter camps will also run 03.22-24.16, with Arcade Design for 3-5 graders, and a Digital Design Amusement Park class for 6-8 graders, and 04.26-28.16, with Deco City for 3-5 graders and a Digital Design class on Waterfront Parks for middle school students. Our summer camp offerings – weekly camps that run 06.20.16-08.26.16 – are also open for registration.
You can register for our March and April vacation programs here: http://www.cfafoundation.org/studio
You can register for summer camp programs here: http://www.cfafoundation.org/summer
Questions? Email info@cfafoundation.org