Adult Programs

What can a spoon tell us about its user, its designer, and the formal and conceptual ideas that drove its creation? From Gio Ponti to Zaha Hadid, modern architects and designers have designed knives, forks, and spoons that embody the broader ideas that inform their architectural designs. Join design writer Dung Ngo, whose own extensive... View full event details here.

Every Wednesday, join us in the historic Carnegie Library for At the Hearth, a drop-in program held from 5:00-6:00 p.m. during the museum’s Pay What You Wish hour. Hosted by Cooper Hewitt curators, educators, conservators, and librarians, come sit by the fireplace for intimate conversations and fresh perspectives from makers, designers, thinkers, and writers deeply engaged in design. During this At the Hearth, hear live music from Rachel Feldhaus (viola), ROHANA (cello), and Warner Meadows (keyboard and electronics). The trio will improvise with their instruments responding to the afternoon and space with their distinct styles of classical, folk, jazz, and experimental music. View full event details here.

In conjunction with Frederic Church in Jamaica, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Victoria Johnson shares the dramatic and consequential life of the artist Frederic Church, whose footsteps she followed around the globe for her new biography of Church, Glorious Country. Church’s curiosity, bravery, and passion for nature drove him to explore the world,... View full event details here.

In this session, we’ll sketch in the galleries of the Frederic Church in Jamaica exhibition, which explores the painter’s extraordinary sketches of the Jamaican landscape during his 1865 journey to the island. The exhibition draws from Cooper Hewitt’s holdings of over 2,000 of the artist’s oil and graphite sketches—the largest collection of Church works in the world. View full event details here.

Join Cooper Hewitt for a talk with Emerging Designer winner Mattaforma—the latest program in a new series spotlighting the 2026 National Design Award winners in conversation with Director Maria Nicanor. Mattaforma is a New York–based architecture and research studio founded by Lindsey Wikstrom that is redefining sustainable design through mass-timber innovation and healthy materials. Through writing, teaching, and advocacy, the studio invites policymakers, schoolchildren, and neighbors to co-author plant-based futures where climate action is tangible, communal, and joyful. View full event details here.

Every Wednesday, join us in the historic Carnegie Library for At the Hearth, a drop-in program held from 5:00-6:00 p.m. during the museum’s Pay What You Wish hour. Hosted by Cooper Hewitt curators, educators, conservators, and librarians, come sit by the fireplace for intimate conversations and fresh perspectives from makers, designers, thinkers, and writers deeply engaged in design. During this At the Hearth, make a pinch pot, a simple hand-built clay vessel, with Greenwich House Pottery while discussing how the hands-on encompasses everything from artists-in-residences to the call for universal daycare. View full event details here.

Join Cooper Hewitt for a talk with Fashion Design winner Josh Tafoya—an intimate series spotlighting the 2026 National Design Award winners in conversation with Director Maria Nicanor. Josh Tafoya is a textile artist redefining the "Southwestern" aesthetic and American fashion from an Indigenous perspective. Drawing on his Genízaro, Spanish, and Chicano heritage, Tafoya blends ancestral knowledge of Rio Grande Valley weaving with contemporary fashion innovation to ensure the traditional cultural crafts of New Mexico live on in a contemporary world. Selections from Josh Tafoya's work will be on view before and after the conversation, giving guests a chance to see the garments up close. The evening closes with a short performance featuring an excerpt from his September New York Indigenous Fashion Week show. View full event details here.

Join us for a sensory-friendly evening of structured fun at Cooper Hewitt. Explore sketching from nature in the Church in Jamaica exhibition with interactive experiences, conversation, and creativity.  View full event details here.

Every Wednesday, join us in the historic Carnegie Library for At the Hearth, a drop-in program held from 5:00-6:00 p.m. during the museum’s Pay What You Wish hour. Hosted by Cooper Hewitt curators, educators, conservators, and librarians, come sit by the fireplace for intimate conversations and fresh perspectives from makers, designers, thinkers, and writers deeply engaged in design. During this At the Hearth, we’ll focus on Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection, which includes a multitude of dinnerware and food serving objects. View full event details here.