Seventh Annual National Design Week

The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will host its seventh annual National Design Week from Oct. 13 through Oct. 21. The museum will offer a series of public programs and a range of online resources for students, teachers, design professionals and the general public to celebrate the important role that design plays in all aspects of daily life. All Cooper-Hewitt programs are free with advance registration at www.cooperhewitt.org/ndw. Cooper-Hewitt has also launched a new interactive National Design Week online resource, www.ndw.lanyrd.com, that promotes design events hosted by organizations and institutions across the country. This year's events span the nation, with design events in Portland, Ore., Denver and Santa Fe, N.M., as well as New York. The National Design Week site, hosted on the Lanyrd platform, allows users to find events hosted in their local area, and provides geo-location for mobile search on the go. Lanyrd.com is a social events directory that works like a wiki, leveraging the community it serves by encouraging users to enter event details and edit data. Lanyrd is closely integrated with Twitter and also recommends events that Twitter contacts are attending or speaking at. Paticipants can share their experiences by using the hastag #ndw2012. National Design Week is held in conjunction with Cooper-Hewitt’s most visible public education program, the National Design Awards. Now in their second decade, the awards recognize the best in American design across a range of disciplines. The award recipients will be honored at a gala dinner Oct. 17 in New York. Cooper-Hewitt FREE public programs include: Target Design Kids: Kid Made Modern with Todd Oldham Saturday, Oct. 13, 10–11:30 a.m., 12–1:30 p.m., 2–3:30 p.m., 4–5:30 p.m. Cooper-Hewitt Design Center (111 Central Park North, New York) Kids ages 5 to 12 are invited to create modern design pieces from everyday and recycled materials with Todd Oldham and crew. Free. Drop-in on Design: Family Programs Monday, Oct. 15–Friday, Oct. 19, 4–6 p.m. Cooper-Hewitt Design Center (111 Central Park North, New York) “Drop-in on Design” allows families to explore design through fun hands-on activities led by our Design Educators. Free. NYC Teen Design Fair Monday, Oct. 15, 3:30–6 p.m. The Altman Building (135 West 18th Street, New York) New York City high school students are invited to learn about careers in design. A keynote address will be delivered by Tim Gunn, chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne Inc. and co-host of Lifetime’s Project Runway. The Teen Design Fair brings leading designers working in the fields of fashion, industrial, multimedia, graphic design and architecture, to meet one-on-one with students. Design colleges from around the country will also be on hand to provide admissions and scholarship information. Free. National Design Awards Winners' Panel Monday, Oct. 15, 7–8:30 p.m. The Altman Building (135 West 18th Street, New York) National Design Award winners participate in a panel discussion about the state of contemporary design in America. Moderated by Richard Saul Wurman, Lifetime Achievement winner. Free. This program will be webcast live at www.cooperhewitt.org. Target Design Kids: Design Tales Tuesday, Oct. 16, and Thursday, Oct. 18, 10–11 a.m. Cooper-Hewitt Design Center (111 Central Park North, New York) Preschoolers ages 2 to 5 and their caregivers are invited to participate in interactive reading sessions that focus on design-based books. Free. Andrew Revkin: #Knowosphere Thursday, Oct. 18, 7–8:30 p.m. Cooper-Hewitt Design Center (111 Central Park North, New York) Andrew Revkin, professor, author and creator of the New York Times Dot Earth blog on climate change and sustainable living, explores contemporary trends in collaborative communication and design and how they can be used to shape a sustainable human journey. Free. Target Design Kids: Family Programs Saturday, Oct. 20, 11–12:30 p.m. and 1:30–3 p.m. Target Design Kids introduces basic design concepts to children ages 5 and older through a series of different hands-on workshops. Free. Educator Resource Center The online Educator Resource Center (www.educatorresourcecenter.org) features design-focused lesson plans and discussion boards for K-12 educators interested in incorporating design in their classrooms. The site now includes more than 400 lesson plans aligned to national and state standards for all grade levels and helps teachers of all subjects, including mathematics, science, language arts and history, as well as art, learn ways to promote innovation, critical thinking, visual literacy and problem solving across the curriculum.