In the first lesson, our educator comes to your classroom and leads interactive activities to explore the basics of architecture and the cultural and architectural history of the area. Students are led to explore what is architecture by looking at different types of buildings and materials. Learn about the Lenape Native Americans and the settlers that displaced them from the Dutch through English rule, and how early American architectural styles developed as New York City grew in the early 19th century.

Travel back in time for the second lesson as you join us in Washington Square Park for a guided walking tour filled with activities. Learn about the original inhabitants of the land and how Washington Square Park was developed. Put on your detective hat and search out clues to help tell the history of the area, concluding with an architectural scavenger hunt at the Washington Square Arch.

The third lesson is a culminating art project to be done in the classroom led by our educator. This class offers guided art projects that focus on the materials learned in the first two lessons. Some students will do a “Design Your Own Arch” project where they think about what’s important to them, and how to symbolize that on an arch. Some students will do a paper bag row house project, where they draw, cut, and paste to build their own personalized row house. Others will cut, build, and color three-dimensional models of row houses (example below).