Blog

By Susan Mann, Education Guide

“What exactly do kids do on an architecture tour?” is a question I’m often asked as an education guide. Just as CAC docents facilitate tours about Chicago, its architecture, history, and the built environment for largely adult audiences, education guides – people trained by the CAC’s Education department in tour content as well as child development and learning strategies – do the same for students. The CAC’s Education department offers a variety of programs tailored to different ages, interests, and experiences for children from pre-school through high school.

Chicago: City of Architecture (CCOA) is our flagship student tour, designed for students from the 3rd grade through high school. During this 90-minute walking tour, two main themes are explored: how architecture provides clues to a building’s role and purpose and how buildings can tell stories about people and history. Education guides have the flexibility to adapt the instructional delivery, vocabulary, and depth of content to meet the needs of the students on the tour.

The first stop on the Chicago: City of Architecture tour is CAC’s building, 111 E Wacker Drive. Here we ground students in visual literacy, teaching them “how to read a building”, from identifying the overall shape, color, ornamentation, materials, skeletal structure, and building context (its relationship and positioning relative to other buildings, roads, green space). From these clues, we ask students to hypothesize about the purpose of the building and how people use it. With older students, we layer in a discussion of styles: international, contemporary, art deco, mid-century modern, and beaux arts.

We then turn around and appreciate the grand vista on the north side of the Chicago River. This is the perfect backdrop to highlight the role of geography, especially the river, in Chicago’s history, development, and growth. This includes acknowledgement of indigenous communities, the Du Sable homestead, Fort Dearborn, and the importance of bridges in Chicago.

The next stop is the London House, that provides an example of architecture telling a story through ornamentation. Characteristics of Beaux Arts and International styles are compared and how ornamentation and styles evoke different thoughts and stories are discussed. Additionally, at this stop we introduce the concept of adaptive reuse and how cities and buildings change over time.

We then move on to Marina City, where we expand on the discussion of building materials, shapes, and purpose and how these evolve as a result of decisions and planning by architects and city officials. The “city within a city” concept is explored with emphasis on the amenities the architects included to create livable spaces and a neighborhood. This is also a stop where Loredo Taft’s statue allows us to touch a little upon American history.

As we make our way to the Carbon and Carbide building, we pause at the corner of Wacker and Wabash for a visual representation of the infrastructure the city relies on to work. From this vantage point, the students can observe multiple systems in motion such as public transportation, bridges, and streets.

The Carbide and Carbon Building is one of the best stops to practice reading a building. The Art Deco style and abundance of ornamentation generates lively discussion and provides a first-hand look at how the discovery of King Tut’s Tomb influenced architectural design – indeed, many students have noted how the gold pinnacle atop the building is reminiscent of King Tut’s sarcophagus.

Our last stop on the tour is the Aqua Tower. Here we compare and contrast Aqua with Marina City and discuss how in an increasingly urbanized world we can make cities and buildings livable for all. Aqua’s eco-friendly design and components inspired by the natural environment are easily recognizable. The architectural firm of Studio Gang provides a natural segue to the topic of diversity in gender, race, and nationality in architecture.

Finally, we return to the CAC, where we spend some time with the students reviewing what they’ve just learned and completing a short written reflection about their tour experience.

So, to answer the question posted at the onset: we give students an opportunity to see and experience Chicago in a new way. We provide them a foundation of knowledge and learning about the city, its history, and architecture. Most importantly, we encourage students to “wonder why” and hopefully spark an interest in the city and architecture that will expand and grow in the years to come.