Design Revolution Road Show

March 30th, 2010

Recap: Design Lab High School, March 30th

In the case of our visit to the Design Lab High School in Cleveland, Ohio, a picture (or video) is worth 1000 words, so I will keep this brief. Principal Raymon Spottsville greeted us this morning as we pulled up to the school, which is an Early College STEM school that prioritizes design thinking and creativity as an approach to all subjects. I should also mention that the Design Lab High School is currently on spring break, but students came back to school today just to see the road show. The students share a facility with Jane Addams High School, which was in session, so we also got to share the presentation and products with some of the Jane Addams students. We talked to Tim, above, who had some amazing things to say about what design means to him and how the school has been a great academic experience.

Mr. Spottsville explained to us how the school offers college credit while the students are still in school, thanks to a partnership with the neighboring community college. The school’s creed includes the term “imaginative citizens,” which so eloquently describes the character of some of the students: creative, engaged, and energized. Mr. Spottsville explained to a group of students how the Hippo Roller worked and why such solutions had power within communities (video above).

Of course, the Hippo Roller versus 5-gallon bucket races were proof of the efficacy of the Hippo Roller, which totes 22 gallons easily compared to the hefty buckets. Before leaving today, we got a tour of the school from Cherry, one of the students. Cherry told us about the design fundamentals class and their ability to choose college courses to add to their high school schedule. The design fundamentals teacher, Cassandra, was fantastic as well, and described how she views design not as a training program but a way to think, and a sensibility that encourages creative approaches to all subjects. If you know how to think like a designer, you’re more likely to find unlikely ways to solve math problems, to learn a foreign language, or to do research for a social studies project.

We’ll be back in Cleveland later this month and hope to meet with the Design Lab High School students and teachers again. We were so impressed at the school’s organization and the students’ commitment to their own creative futures.

March 30th, 2010

Daily Postcard: March 30th

Design process as posted in the Design Lab High School in Cleveland, OH

March 30th, 2010

Quote From The Road: March 30th

When: March 30th, 12:20 p.m.
Where: Design Lab High School in Cleveland, OH

Design fundamentals teacher: “Ideas are cheap. Keep them coming.”
(On how to teach creativity in public schools)

November 8th, 2009

Individual School Pages: Check for Updates

We’ve confirmed 25 different high schools and colleges as official stops on our tour! Each school has its own informational page, which can be accessed from the list on the Itinerary page here. Please check back regularly for updates on each school page- we will be adding specific schedule and location info for where the Airstream will be parked at each stop, along with when and where the lecture will be held as soon as we have confirmed details with each school.

November 1st, 2009

List of Confirmed Schools

As of November 1, 2009, the following schools have been confirmed (see the Itinerary page for the full route and more information):

• February 1: Redwood High School, Larkspur, CA
• February 2: Kick-Off Event with Adobe, San Francisco, CA
• February 3: California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
• February 4: Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
• February 5: San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
• February 8: Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
• February 9: The Design High School, Los Angeles, CA
• February 15: University of Texas, Austin, TX
• February 18: University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA
• February 22-23: Auburn University, Auburn, AL
• February 24-26: Hale County Workshop (Learning Landscape build), Greensboro, AL
• March 1-2: North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
• March 4-5: Bertie County School District, Windsor, NC
• March 11: Maryland Institute College of Arts, Baltimore, MD
• March 12: The Park School, Baltimore, MD
• March 15: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
• March 22: Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
• March 23: Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School (BCAM), Brooklyn, NY
• March 25: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
• March 29: Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH
• March 30: Design Lab High School, Cleveland, OH
• April 1: College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI
• April 2: Cranbrook Academy of Art and High School, Detroit, MI
• April 5-9: School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• April 12-13: University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI
• April 15: University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
• April 16: Wilmington High School, Wilmington, OH