Teaching By Design

Teaching By Design Bringing you design principles into the classroom and beyond We're the Education Department for the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust.

Our Designing a Better World initiative brings architecture and design principles into classrooms, libraries and community centers. Integrating design in the classroom provides a strong platform for learning across curriculum, helping students apply skills in math, science, technology, reading, writing and communication to practical situations. It encourages students to be inventive, to harness creativity, and to propose relevant solutions that effect positive change in the world they live.

Happy Birthday, Lieber Meister! Louis Sullivan was born on this day in 1856. He designed buildings across Chicago, inclu...
09/03/2026

Happy Birthday, Lieber Meister! Louis Sullivan was born on this day in 1856. He designed buildings across Chicago, including the Auditorium Theatre and the Carson Pirie Scott & Co. Building, and was Wright's biggest influence as an early architect. The two men fell out after Wright breached his contract with Sullivan, but reconnected before Sullivan's death in 1924. Throughout his career Wright referred to Sullivan as his "Lieber Meister," which means "beloved teacher" in German.

We had so much fun at our Robie House cyanotype event last week! Participants used blueprints, art glass, and natural ma...
08/25/2026

We had so much fun at our Robie House cyanotype event last week! Participants used blueprints, art glass, and natural materials to create architecture-inspired sunprints. Thank you to everyone who stopped by! We so appreciate your creativity and excitement. Be on the lookout for more pop-ups in the future 🌿🌤️💙

Looking for a fascinating afternoon activity? Stop by the Robie House in Hyde Park tomorrow between 12:30 - 2:00 to crea...
08/10/2026

Looking for a fascinating afternoon activity? Stop by the Robie House in Hyde Park tomorrow between 12:30 - 2:00 to create your own cyanotype sun print. This is a great way to explore the relationship between Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture and the nature that inspired it. It's also lots of fun!

See you there ☀️

And just like that, summer camp is over! We hosted 6th-8th grade students for our final camp last week, wrapping up our ...
08/04/2026

And just like that, summer camp is over! We hosted 6th-8th grade students for our final camp last week, wrapping up our busiest summer yet. It was a wonderful season full of learning, designing, and gardening! Looking forward to doing it all again next year. Keep an eye out this winter for information on next year’s camps! ☀️🌱🏡

Last week’s 3rd-5th grade Landscape Architecture camp was an absolute blast! We managed to learn a lot about the outdoor...
07/24/2026

Last week’s 3rd-5th grade Landscape Architecture camp was an absolute blast! We managed to learn a lot about the outdoors despite being inside due to the weather. Campers collaborated on planter designs, learned about different garden types, and created models of their dream outdoor spaces. We are looking forward to our 6th-8th grade camp next week! 🌷🌦️🐛

07/21/2026

Happy ! You’ve probably heard of Origami, but have you heard of Froebelian paper folding? This style of paper folding was pioneered by Friedrich Froebel, an early childhood educator who created educational tools called Froebel Gifts. Frank Lloyd Wright used these tools as a child and cited them as inspiration for his architecture later in life!

Froebel Stars are a popular craft in Germany, especially around Christmas time. Although they were likely not invented by Froebel himself, they share similarities with Froebel’s paper folding methods and are named after him.

Follow the tutorial above to make your own Froebel Star! Start with four strips of paper that are at least 24 times as long as they are wide. For example, the star in the video is made with strips measuring ½ inch wide and 12 inches long. Have fun folding! ⭐✂️🌈

The first week of our Wright Outside summer camps is complete! Last week, campers learned about Frank Lloyd Wright’s app...
06/30/2026

The first week of our Wright Outside summer camps is complete! Last week, campers learned about Frank Lloyd Wright’s approach to Landscape Architecture, the history of gardens across the globe, and the best ways to plant a garden. They finished the week by building a model of their own dream garden, taking inspiration from the gardens we learned about throughout the week 🏡🪏🌻

Last week we hosted sixteen 7th and 8th graders from the Oak Park area as part of the Oak Park Education Network’s BASE ...
06/19/2026

Last week we hosted sixteen 7th and 8th graders from the Oak Park area as part of the Oak Park Education Network’s BASE Camps! They spent the week learning about interior design and creating their own models of their dream rooms. It was a wonderful start to the summer! 🌳🌿🏡

Thank you to everyone who attended our event at the Rookery last week! Educators heard from Preservation Architect Cathi...
05/26/2026

Thank you to everyone who attended our event at the Rookery last week! Educators heard from Preservation Architect Cathi Ward about the history of the Rookery, went on a tour of the space, and explored the social history of the building through collage. We had a wonderful time and cannot wait to hold more events for educators soon! 🏗️🌆🎨

Happy ! This week we’re highlighting the Rookery, the oldest standing skyscraper in downtown Chicago! Although the Rook...
05/08/2026

Happy ! This week we’re highlighting the Rookery, the oldest standing skyscraper in downtown Chicago! Although the Rookery may seem small by today’s standards, it was exceptionally tall at the time it was built. Daniel Burnham and John Root were commissioned to design the building in 1885, and construction was completed in 1888. Burnham and Root famously planned the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in their top-floor office at the Rookery. Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned to update the light court in 1905, and William Drummond provided additional updates in 1931. The building underwent extensive restoration in 1992, which highlighted both Burnham and Root’s original design and Wright’s 1905 updates.

We invite educators to join us at the Rookery to learn more about its role in history at our Evenings for Educators professional development event “Past, Present, and Future: Exploring the Rookery through Collage” on May 20th from 5:00-8:30 PM. Register at the link in our bio now! 🏗️🏙️✨

Address

931 Chicago Avenue
Oak Park, IL
60302

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

708-725-3828

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