Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Week 4




During our last week at camp, we became shoe designers! Our campers got the chance to design and make their own (wearable!) pair of shoes. Today they also got the chance to walk down the runway and showcase all of their incredible designs to their family and friends. Afterward, their grown-ups got the chance to see the design process they went through from our library visit inspiration to the final result (plus their customized shoebox!).

Lavanya’s shoes and shoebox

Ivana’s materials (sketchbook and portfolio) and her sandals and shoebox.

For the past week, we partnered with Brooklyn Shoe Space, a company that specializes in offering workshops on designing and making your own shoes. Bonnie and Claire, our presenters and helpers, were patient and helped everyone understand the process of making your own shoes. They worked alongside our campers and advised them on their design and were ready to assist whenever something wasn’t working as planned. Their dedication was clear from the beginning and even more so during crunch time when it seemed as if the shoes weren’t going to be ready. Overall, the week was extremely exciting and I was so proud to see how much thought and planning all the kids put into their projects. Our campers had innovative and creative designs from the beginning which was a nice change from something less subjective like robotics. It definitely made me wish I got to make my own shoes!

It was bittersweet and almost surreal to be saying goodbye to design camp. I’ve gained so much from my time at Cooper Hewitt and never expected to like, let alone love, the experience as much as I did. It became clear to me how true it is that “time flies when you’re having fun.” I can’t lie and say that every moment was exciting and fun but every moment was a valuable experience. I loved interacting with the kids and getting to know their personalities and quirks even if they were only at camp for one of the four weeks. I also learned an unbelievable amount from the educators, camp director, and assistant, as well as fellow interns. Everyone was welcoming, supportive but especially passionate about their work.

Thank you SLC for this opportunity, you’ve helped refine my career goals and add to my interests. Thank you, Cooper Hewitt, for welcoming me into your space and sharing your knowledge with me.

-Maira

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