DDC Teams with AIANY Center for Architecture for “Take Our Children to Work Day

April 25, 2019

DDC: Shoshana Khan, 718-391-1251, KhanSho@ddc.nyc.gov

(Long Island City, NY – April 25, 2019) NYC Department of Design and Construction’s (DDC) STEAM education initiative partnered with the AIA New York’s Center for Architecture for Take Our Children to Work Day 2019 today. The 26-year-old program exposes boys and girls to what a parent or mentor in their lives does during the work day, demonstrates the value of education, and provides them with an opportunity to share how they envision the future. If our children are to compete in a global 21st century economy, they will need to be prepared and start their journey to success early.

The agenda for the day at DDC’s Long Island City headquarters consisted of essential workforce building activities that will empower young people to make a positive change within their communities, schools and homes. The fifty children of DDC staffers spent a day learning and completing activities including the creation of a memory map collage, learning how to draw the façade of a building by slide tracing and learning about how a variety of sustainable design techniques were used to create environmentally friendly buildings.

Center for Architecture Educator Dustin Atlas and children of DDC staffers model buildings and parks at “Take Our Children to Work Day”

“Today students learned about a variety of sustainable design techniques used to create green buildings that have a minimal environmental impact,” said DDC’s Commissioner Lorraine Grillo. “It’s very important to educate young people about green initiatives because our future, and theirs, relies on it.” 

“We see to inspire our children to dream about their potential future careers. It’s important that we start to gauge their interests starting at a young age so that we as parents can guide them,” said DDC Deputy Commissioner for Community Partnerships & STEAM Initiatives Lee Llambelis. “The children will learn about sustainable resilient green architecture through active and fun, hands-on activities.”

DDC’s M/WBE Outreach & Compliance Analyst Janelle Husain brought her son Jared Boodram, an eighth-grader from Queens. He wants to be a competitive gamer when he grows up.

DDC’s M/WBE Outreach & Compliance Analyst Janelle Husain and her son Jared Boodram at DDC’s “Take Our Children to Work Day”

“It was really interesting to learn about architecture, different types of roofs and how to create a blueprint for a building. I did well at creating the blueprint, though I’m not the best at drawing,” said Jared Boodram. “I’m glad we got to learn more about what the agency does. Next time, I would love to hear about the different career paths at DDC. I was part of a STEM program at school and I want to get back into it because I enjoy math and science.“

Jared Boodram created a 3D building for the large neighborhood site model during “Take Our Children to Work Day”

Educators from the Center for Architecture created the day’s activity schedule and guided the children through the activities. The Center for Architecture uses the ideas and experiences of practicing architects to produce thought provoking exhibitions, information public programs, and quality design education experiences for K-12 students. Their aim is to further public knowledge about City architecture and architects, foster collaboration and exchange and inspire new ideas about the role of design in communities by presenting contemporary and practical issues in architecture and urbanism.