Design Hive

A photograph of two teenagers sitting at a table and making a leather accessory. Materials are scattered around the table such as hole punchers, leather pieces, scissors, threads, and cardboard boxes. The medium skin toned teenager sitting on the right with dark curly short hair is threading a flat piece of black leather.

Design hive

Design Hive is a paid, youth-led initiative at Cooper Hewitt. High school juniors and seniors dive deep into design objects and processes to develop their own collaborative projects. Along the way, they learn how designers move from an initial idea to final design!

Design Hive takes place at Cooper Hewitt and offsite locations on Tuesdays between 4:30–6:30 p.m. Students must be based in the New York City area to apply. Participants must attend all weekly program dates and be available to meet at Cooper Hewitt (2 East 91st Street, New York, NY 10128).

This year’s program will run from Tuesday, January 19, 2027 through Tuesday June 1, 2027 with all DOE breaks observed. Upon successful completion of the program, students will receive a stipend of $1250.

Want to learn more? Sign up for our virtual information session!

A photograph of a group of teenagers standing around a table each dipped a piece of clamped folded fabric into a bowl of liquid. Each teenager is wearing an apron and in front of each one of them is a bowl of colored liquid such as mustard, brown, and pink.

A photograph of a medium skin toned adult and dark hair pulled back into a bun standing and talking to a group of teenagers. Between the adult and teenagers is a long table that is filled with various sized books. In the background there is a shelf stacked with books.

A photograph of an adult with light-toned skin and long curly red hair is holding a sample of material and speaking to a group of teenagers. Teenagers stand on both sides of two long wooden tables that have multiple material samples of different sizes and colors. At the back of the room is a black chalk board that states, â€œplease arrange the material on the table in order, lowest embodied carbon to highestâ€.

A photograph of a light skinned adult with long red curly hair and wearing an olive-green jumpsuit is speaking to a light skinned teenager with long dark brown who is holding a material sample. Teenagers stand on both sides of two long wooden tables that have multiple material samples of different sizes and colors.

A photograph of a group of teenagers sitting at a table each drawing on a piece of triangular cardboard, a city map is laid out on the table in front of them. A section the same size and shape as their cardboard pieces is outlined in pink on the map. In the foreground of the photo are three white cards labelled local employee, bees, and pet owner. On the table there are other materials such as markers and dried twigs.

A photograph of a large group of teenagers sitting on bright orange chairs around a long table filled with printed out images and pages of text. At the far end of the table stands three adults, the adult on the left is smiling at the group of teenagers and the adult in the center is speaking to the teenagers. Behind the group in the right corner of the room there is a wall of multiple rows of brightly coloured images, that are arranged in a colour sequence starting from red to orange, yellow, blue, purple, pink, black, and white.

Applications for 2027 ARE OPEN!

- Apply via SOLAA by Sunday, October 25th at 11:59 PM
- You can save your application and come back to it later. The application contains short answer questions, an essay, and requires two references. References can be a teacher, mentor, or another adult who is not related to you. When you add a reference, be sure to click the small envelope icon. This will send an email to your reference with the information they need to respond.
- You’ll see a number of optional questions asking about demographic information such as disability and citizenship status. These questions are not tied to your application, and you can leave them blank if you’d like.

Questions? E-Mail McNallyK@si.edu

CHECK OUT DESIGN HIVE’S PREVIOUS WORK

Design Hive Zine 2025

Design Hive Zine 2026

Sanctuary, a short film by Elana Frank, Joceline Estrada, Elliot Wells, and Gissell Suarez.

Sanctuary is a short film born from a desire to explore what “home” truly means beyond walls and addresses, into the spaces where we feel safe, and supported. Told through the voices of four close friends, the film weaves together personal reflections and specific moments that define our shared sense of belonging.

Design learning at Cooper Hewitt is made possible by Adobe, The Pinkerton Foundation, The Richard and Jean Coyne Family Foundation, The Hirsch Family Foundation, PwC Charitable Foundation, The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution’s Youth Access Grants for Youth Innovation in Rural America, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.