Design Hive

A photograph of a bird's eye view of two medium-skin toned teenagers sitting at a table and drawing on a notepad. They are drawing something in the shape of an envelope. Around them are materials such as paint brushes, leather straps and sheets, and worksheets on how to construct a leather accessory.

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!

Inspired by the museum’s upcoming exhibition, Making Home, this year’s Design Hive will focus on how designers think about home — from building home and creating safer spaces to issues around housing and migration. We are looking for aspiring architects, city planners, activists, and more to join our cohort this year.

Design Hive takes place at Cooper Hewitt and offsite locations on Tuesdays from November to May 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).

Students will receive a stipend of $2,000 for their participation, paid in two $1,000 payments during the program.

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.

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, “please arrange the material on the table in order, lowest embodied carbon to highest”.

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 colored images, that are arranged in a color sequence starting from red to orange, yellow, blue, purple, pink, black, and white.

HOW TO APPLY

Are you a New York City based high school junior or senior interested in design? Applications for 2024-2025 are now live and due on Monday, September 23rd!

Head to Smithsonian SOLAA and create an account. You will receive an e-mail to activate your account.
Log in to SOLAA and search for the program Design Hive 2024
Complete the application, which includes the below essay question:
- Think about a place you’ve called ‘home’– your neighborhood, a community you belong to, or even a physical place you go to. What would you re-design about this place to make it better for yourself or others? Think about things like comfort, safety, freedom, accessibility, etc.
- Please attach your response in a Word document or .PDF. You may write, draw, or render your response, but please include at least 1 paragraph explaining your idea
Stuck? Sign up for our Virtual Q + A on Tuesday, September 17th to learn more about the program and how to apply.
Questions? E-mail McNallyK@si.edu

CHECK OUT DESIGN HIVE’S PREVIOUS WORK

Design Hive Zine 2023

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.