April 28, 2016

Take Our Children to Work Day 2016

DDC's STEAM Initiatives Division hosted the children of DDC employees for our 2016 Take Our Children to Work Day celebration. Our children spent the day creating large-scale, three-dimensional study models of DDC projects from across the five boroughs, including the Bronx Museum of Art, Central Park Precinct in Manhattan, the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn, Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island and the Queens Botanical Garden. The theme for the day, “They Build For You!” showcased DDC projects and helped to illustrate the importance of their parent’s work within the related built environment disciplines.

Older students worked in teams to build large scale models of several public buildings from templates created by DDC's STEAM group, while the younger students created models of green park spaces within the city. The groups combined their efforts to create a poster with details of our city’s infrastructure.

The culminating project was a diorama of the five boroughs filled with large scale models of DDC public buildings with information on a variety of park spaces. The workshops were followed by a question-and-answer session with Commissioner Peña-Mora, who admired the models created by the children and spoke about what it takes to be successful in these careers. At the close of the program the children explained key elements of their projects to their parents and guests. The project afforded our children the opportunity to work and think like architects, engineers and built environment professionals. They also learned how DDC employees create some of New York City’s premier public buildings, green spaces, and infrastructure.

“Our STEAM Initiative’s ‘Take Your Children to Work Day’ is an excellent program because it connects the people who currently build the city to the future generation of public builders, said DDC Commissioner Feniosky Peña-Mora. “Our projects put an emphasis on community engagement, resiliency, sustainability, equity and healthy living. This program is a perfect way to connect our agency to the youth of our city in a way that exposes them to the work that we do and lets them interact with the buildings they see on a daily basis.”