Architects and allies provide $39,000 in public-education grants

Boston (Decemsber 1, 2008)—Sixteen public-education programs throughout Massachusetts are receiving a total of $38,970 in grants this month from the Boston Foundation for Architecture.

The Foundation's trustees, who evaluated the 30 grant applications received this year, include architects, developers, contractors, artists, real-estate professionals, journalists, and allied professionals. These grants help underwrite community-based K-12 and other public-education programs that focus on elevating public awareness of and participation in the planning, design, and construction of our communities.

This year's grant recipients and the contact person in each instance are:

Artists for Humanity (South Boston)—$$3,000 to support a youth education program focusing on ‘green’ architecture and environmental responsibility (Susan Rodgerson, 617-268-7620).

Boston Architectural College (Boston)—$1,500 to support a collaboration with Tufts University to provide public educational tours and public educational workshops as part of the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon Initiative (Jeff Stein AIA, 617-262-5000)

Children’s Museum (Boston)—$2,000 to support the creation of the museum’s self-guided audio tour that explains key aspects of the museum’s new building rehabilitation/expansion (Lori Allen, 617-426-6500x250)

Citizen Schools (Boston)—$3,500 to support the engagement of approximately 100 students and 50 volunteer design professionals in hands-on architecture and urban design apprenticeships that also engage community residents (Jodie Deshmukh, 617-695-2300x113)

Freetown-Lakeville Middle School (Lakeville)—$1,100 to support an in-school program for about 130 students who will tour facilities powered by alternative energy sources and will then ‘design’ a home using one or more of those alternative sources (Maria Bernard, 508-923-3518x2109)

Gate of Heaven School (South Boston)—$500 to extend the grades K-8 architectural curriculum – “Where We Live, Where We Come Together” – with bookmaking projects about architecture culminating in an art exhibition (Deborah Putnam, 617-268-8431).

Girls Inc. (Worcester)—$2,000 to support “Material Girls”, a design and construction program for girls that builds skills in math, engineering and architectural design and introduces girls to ‘green' architecture (Anne Sadick, 508-755-6455x21)

Hanover High School (Hanover)—$2,000 to support a traveling exhibit of scaled model homes built by high-school students to explore ‘green’ concepts and practices used in home design and construction (Kurt Giessler and Jeff Faria, 781-878-5450)

Hawthorne Youth and Community Center (Roxbury)—$2,600 to support the creation of a three-dimensional exhibit of drawings, photos, and a 30’x30’ table-top model of the Hawthorne Café and to develop related community educational materials for the installation of the exhibit at the Dudley Public Library (Samantha Sadd, 617-427-0613).

Learning By Design in Massachusetts (statewide)—$3,500 to support the development and distribution of K-12 programs that focus on sustainable design and sustainable communities (Jan Ham, 508-528-4517).

Southeastern Massachusetts Arts Collaborative (Attleboro)—$3,000 to support the training of two dozen teachers and approximately 500 students in the use of new “Archi-Math Kits” developed to facilitate and enrich the learning of math and design skills (Sherye Weisz, 508-222-8484)

Stonehurst/The Robert Treat Estate (Waltham)—$3,500 to support the creation and production of a PowerPoint presentation to accompany "Shaped by Nature", a third-grade school program (Jennifer Meader, 781-314-3290)

The Boston Museum (Boston)—$4,000 to support a week-long exploration for grades 3-8 teachers of Boston’s built environment and environmental landscape as they relate to the city’s history (Katy Abel, 617-367-1955x4)

The Discovery Museum (Acton)—$3,275 to support a public hands-on program for children and adults on sustainable architecture including solar, low-impact development and heating technologies, including building project kits and related teacher training (Michael Judd, 978-264-4200x25)

The Institute of Contemporary Art (South Boston)—$2,500 to support “KidsBuild”, the annual ICA/Boston Society of Architects hands-on program for over 1,000 kids ages 5-12 focusing on the design and building process (Kristen Wawruck, 617-478-3174)

Worcester Arts Magnet School—$995 to support a 4th-grade social studies curriculum unit exploring the ways in which space/buildings are used in everyday life (Susan O’Neil (508-799-3575).

For more information on how to contribute to the BFA and support community programs such as those described above, contact Ann Fienman at 617-951-1433 x233 or afienman@architects.org.