Student Outreach: Creating Relevant and Adaptable Activities to Inspire the Next Generation of Designers
Today’s students have the world at their fingertips, but in many cases, they might not be aware of all the opportunities the world has to offer. As designers, we believe that student outreach gives a glimpse into potential future interests and can open doors for students to pursue further exploration. These interactions are great introductions for students, but are also eye-opening for designers, as we can learn as much from these students as they learn from us.
Teams across our offices have participated in numerous student outreach events varying from career fairs and office tours to activities that dive deeper into design fields and provide students of all ages with a glimpse into what their future could look like. Through our experience, we’ve learned that students best engage with interesting, relevant, and interactive activities, and in response, we’ve created several activities for all ages to use at these outreach events. Most recently, we’ve built spaghetti and marshmallow structures at an intermediate school, challenged students to create the tallest tower with only 20 paper strips and 20 paper clips at a local high school, and given high school students from all over the world a weeklong architecture school crash course at Virginia Tech’s Explore Architecture summer camp. By engaging participants with fun activities such as these, we can learn about what is most important to students today and encourage them to consider a career in the design industry.
Young students can build confidence and find career inspiration by participating in activities that encourage creative freedom and self-expression.
Engaging with Relevant Activities
It is important for students, even as young as pre-school age, to be exposed to future career opportunities. Students who are made aware of what they can do “when they grow up” can start dreaming at an early age, and work toward those goals as they continue to learn and grow. Of course, this looks different at various grade levels. For our younger students, activities such as reading books like “Iggy Peck Architect” by Andrea Beaty or “What it Feels Like to Be a Building” by Forrest Wilson are great ways to introduce ideas of architecture and engineering. Working through puzzles with geometric shapes or trying on construction site garb could also spark interest. Older students may have opportunities for short-term internships, job shadowing, programs like ACE Mentor Program of America, or camps sponsored by schools or universities. Student outreach initiatives come in many different forms; we find that the most impactful activities are simple, can be adaptable for all ages, engage both hard and soft skills, and most importantly, are fun!
Engaging families in student outreach activities strengthens support for students’ curiosity.
Implementing the flexibility to add or remove constraints is an easy way to achieve modification goals within an activity. For younger students, the focus is creative freedom. There are few constraints, and they are encouraged to express themselves in their own unique ways. For older students, constraints are added to encourage them to think critically about the activity. No matter the age, placing an emphasis on communication, collaboration, and adaptability makes these activities even better.
“Designing a Main Street” is a modifiable activity created by Clark Nexsen. In this activity, students are guided through an interactive exercise in urban planning and community design. Students collaborate to identify what types of buildings, amenities, and design elements are most important to them as they create their own vibrant community. Concepts such as adjacencies and accessibility come to life as students debate whether the café should be next to the school or the park, the importance of public transportation, and the benefits of natural elements and community centers. Older students work with curve balls thrown to them throughout their decision making: the mayor requires a certain building at the center of the street, or inflation has skyrocketed, and they can no longer afford some tenants. This activity requires students of all ages to use both design thinking and soft skills like communication and compromise. One group of students was particularly excited to name their town "Beyonce-ville," where Beyonce performed at the town hall meetings, and her stylists made their services available to residents in the hair salon and clothing boutique. We left with just one question for the design team: When can we move there?
Targeting Real-World Concepts
Activities can be simple and fun while conveying real-world concepts. By engaging technical and soft skills, like thinking about structural stability while collaborating with team members, we can immerse students in the world of design and construction. Activities like challenging students to build free-standing structures with unexpected materials such as marshmallows and spaghetti encourage students to explore basic concepts of how a structural system is supported. Similar to “Designing a Main Street", these activities can these activities can be modified by asking students to create a bridge or the tallest tower for an added layer of competition and complexity. Furthering interpretation and communication skills, an activity called “Sketching Sketchy Sketches,” created by Diversify Architecture, challenges students to sketch an object in two minutes, thirty seconds, and five seconds to demonstrate how designers can represent ideas in a detailed drawing or a basic diagram. “Paper Strips and Paper Clips” is an activity that explores the relationship between geometry and structural capabilities by prompting students to build the tallest tower with limited materials of just 20 paper strips and 20 paper clips. Sometimes we’ll surprise a group of students by bringing in a fan at the end to see if their towers withstand a wind load – adding an element of surprise and fun. Uniting all of these activities is their balance of technical and soft skills, ensuring that students have a well-rounded and relevant experience.
Creating opportunities for teamwork and friendly competition makes student outreach activities engaging and fun for older students.
Preparing Students for the Future
While student outreach should be fun and engaging, it also needs to be practical and informative. It is important to provide students with accurate information about how they can start to prepare for next steps to pursue their career path, whether that is taking classes in middle or high school, producing portfolios for college applications, or looking into career options straight out of school. They should understand the amount of additional education and expectations of the effort that may be required. Professionals should give guidance on technology that may be needed, as well as hours expected to work, compensation, soft skills, and what a typical day might look like. Seemingly simple items like appropriate dress or maintaining eye contact while talking should not be overlooked. For elementary-aged students, encouraging creative freedom and self-expression is the foundation for these students to have the confidence to begin thinking about their future. They don’t necessarily need to know how to get a job or apply for college but having the ability to speak confidently with others and communicate ideas are important beginnings for younger ages.
Making ourselves available and accessible to students by answering questions, reviewing resumes and portfolios, or hosting students for shadow days is one of the most valuable resources we can offer. Whether we’re hosting a class in the office, visiting a school for a career day, or volunteering at an event in a shared community space, our student outreach activities are mobile and adaptable to suit a multitude of locations and provide opportunities to students of all ages and abilities. Today’s students are smart and savvy but still need the right amount of opportunity and guidance to help spark their interests and achieve their goals. It’s our responsibility as design professionals to show up for the next generation, encourage them to explore and discover what energizes them, and equip them with the knowledge to achieve their dreams.
Becky Brady, AIA, ALEP, CDT, LEED AP BD+C, is a Senior Architect and Associate Principal at Clark Nexsen with 20 years of design experience. Specializing in K-12 and educational design, she is a leading advocate for the creation of safe, engaging learning environments and partners with clients to develop solutions that respond to their unique educational needs. To speak with Becky, please email rbrady@clarknexsen.com or call 757.961.7703.
Allison Rogers, Assoc. AIA, LEED Green Associate, is an Architectural Designer for Clark Nexsen with experience in K-12 schools, higher education, community centers, libraries, and more. To speak with Allison, please email allison.rogers@clarknexsen.com or call 757.961.7747.
Elizabeth Criss, Assoc. AIA, is an Architectural Designer at Clark Nexsen located in Virginia Beach, with experience in K-12, higher education and community designs. To speak with Elizabeth, please email elizabeth.criss@clarknexsen.com or call 757.351.1205.
