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Short Tales continues with submissions to the Shining Star Award honoring Leanne Star. They tell the stories of memorable tours. In the first, Kent Foutty (2009) tells a story about students at a different stage of their education. The second describes an Education Guides tour by Lisa Ciota (2020, Education Guide and Exhibit Host) and Jeff Zurlinden (2015, Education Guide and Exhibit Host). It reminds us of the importance of the unique and valuable CAC Education Guide program.

From Kent Foutty,  Class of 2009 – Like Clockwork

I teach at Loyola University Chicago. One of my great joys is to have my accounting students come on my river cruise tours. Usually, these are 18- and 19- year olds, many who know little about Chicago. Often, they are more interested in seeing me than the tour. They want to see what on earth their accounting professor is doing! Before the river tour begins, the students will inevitably be on their cell phones. Often, they continue to scroll/tap/type when the cruise begins. But I continue to watch, and like clockwork, in about 15 minutes into the tour, the phones go away, and heads turn upward, looking at the beautiful buildings along the river. The city has captured their attention. When the tour ends, my students will usually approach me and say, “No offense, but that’s way more interesting than your accounting classes!” And I respond, “That’s why I do it!”

From Lisa Ciota, Class of 2020, Education Guide and Exhibit Host – A Magical Day

It was magical, the day Jeff Zurlinden and I led a group of 8 students from Rush Day School on the Science of Architecture Tour. Rush Day School is a therapeutic day school for children on the autism spectrum or other emotional disabilities. Although Jeff and I have given this tour many, many times, we were a little apprehensive as to how much or how little we should engage the students. So, as the kids settled into their seats in the Design Studio, Jeff and I quickly consulted with the lead teacher and her staff on how to best engage with the students.

Jeff began quietly to talk about the primary forces affecting architecture – gravity, tension, and compression. He even included some simple somatic practices from stretching to reach the sky to pressing their hands together or leaning against the tables to help the students understand these forces with their own bodies.

These simple actions created a safe, calm and welcoming environment for the students and set the stage for us to discuss the seven basic structures of architecture – columns, beams, cantilever, trusses, arches, vaults, and domes. Here Jeff and I alternated, engaging the students individually and as a group in making paper columns or using wooden blocks and other props to demonstrate each structure and how the forces of tension and compression affect each. We culminated the classroom portion by having the teachers and chaperones create a dome underneath which we asked all the kids to gather, thereby physically illustrating how domes create large, unobstructed spaces into which we can all enter. Throughout the classroom session, Jeff and I silently took cues from the teachers and chaperones as we called on students. It was amazing how eagerly they participated and how quickly they grasped the architectural concepts and science behind them.

We were now ready to take the students on the streets and see the magic of Chicago. Instead of being distracted with the busyness and noise of the city, the students, as well as the teachers and chaperones, were enthralled, seeing architecture in a new light. They appreciated the geometry of Illinois Center, the fancy arches on the Old Republic Building and Chicago Theatre, the strength of the trusses used on the “L”, and the cantilevered entry at 225 N. Michigan and those used on some bus shelters. But most awe inspiring for the kids was the Tiffany mosaic vault in Macy’s and the Tiffany dome in the Cultural Center. At the end of the tour, the lead teacher asked Jeff for ideas on how to reinforce the concepts learned back in the classroom. Jeff shared some of the activities we do at Engineering Fest and during student workshops.

A few weeks later, the lead teacher sent in a packet of thank you notes written by the students about this magical day. One of the notes I most enjoy was written by K.K. who said, “I had a great time at the Chicago Architecture Center and will remember it for the rest of my life.” Yes, K.K., so will Jeff and I.

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