The Field Experience (FE) Program exposes students to real-world environments where they explore their interests, apply what they’ve learned in the classroom, and expand their knowledge through firsthand interactions of local and global consequence.
Electrifying Bikes at Earth Rider Cycling
Juniors in Design & Engineering visited Earth Rider, a full-service, woman-owned bike shop to learn from store-owner and bike expert, Sharon. Sharon is a League Cycling Instructor and a certified Bicycle Technician from the United Bicycle Institute. She shared a wealth of knowledge about different types of bikes and how they have evolved to meet…
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Experiencing Visual Rhetoric at the Living Memorial in Marquette Park
Juniors in the Rhetoric class have been pursuing the guiding question, How does rhetoric inspire and mobilize?. Specifically, students are asked to consider how original artwork can speak out on issues and inspire collective action. In order to contextualize such a statement and experience it in person, the students journeyed to Marquette Park to see…
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Better Design with Greater Good Studio
Juniors in Design & Engineering are pursuing the guiding question, How does the design process impact product and experience?. The students are investigating the design of gardening tools, and the importance of empathy in design to promote inclusivity and equity. They are challenged to redesign gardening tools to better suit the needs of senior citizens.…
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Investigating the Language of Resistance with Ugo Okere
I first became aware of Ugo Okere when he was a candidate for Alderman in my Ward, the 40th. In the fall of 2018, Ugo ran as a very young (22) Democratic Socialist, whose campaign attempted to shift the political conversation in Chicago away from the “strong mayor” concept and toward a “power of the people”…
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Rapid Prototyping with The James Dyson Foundation
Students in Design & Engineering received a virtual visit from a couple of experts from the James Dyson Foundation. We have a longstanding partnership with the Dyson Foundation, and we are so grateful we get to learn from their experts every year. This year, students were tasked with answering the prompt, “How does design solve…
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Physics in the Garden at Home Depot
Juniors in the Design & Engineering class talked to experts from the gardening department at Home Depot to investigate the physics of gardening tools. In the first unit of this STEAM course, students have been pursuing the guiding question, what lies at the heart of our fundamental drive to create tools?. In their pursuit of…
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Carrying Water @ The Chicago River
Freshmen in the Water class visited the Chicago River to collect water. In the first unit of this STEAM course, students have been pursuing the guiding question, why is water so common yet so rare? . In their pursuit of an answer, students have been learning about the abundance of water found in living organisms…
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Exploring the Journey of Coffee with Metropolis Coffee
For the past two years, students in the Food For Thought class have visited the Metropolis Coffee Company’s roastery to learn about the life of the Coffee plant. They’ve toured the state-of-the-art roastery and gotten a behind-the-scenes look at each step of the process. Metropolis is dedicated to serving a stellar cup of coffee, but…
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A Virtual Eat Your Neighborhood Tour with Dave Odd
The students in the Food For Thought class are investigating the guiding question, How are food systems shaped and how do they shape the world?. As a part of this investigation, the students studied the Agricultural Revolution which led the class to the question, What would it be like to return to humanity’s roots as…
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Examining Policy with Connie Jordan
Juniors are taking a course called Policy. The first Unit, called “Legislate,” investigates the ways that policy happens through legislative bodies. For the most part, our curriculum focuses on the Federal level of the US government; in past years, our students have spent considerable time with the City of Chicago’s legislative body, the Council. This…
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Spaces as Public Art at Design Museum of Chicago
Students in Drawing Lines have been investigating the concept of placemaking specifically through art. So far in their investigation, they’ve looked at how public artworks may create places where people want to gather and how the process of creation may bring people together. They got a different perspective on placemaking during their visit to the…
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Musing over Murals with Pilsen Public Art Tours
The students in the Drawing Lines course have been examining the power of public art in educating and uniting a community. As a part of their investigation, they studied the Mexican Muralist movement and the work the artists did to reunite a divided country. We are fortunate enough to live and learn in a city…
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Rapid Prototyping with The James Dyson Foundation
Students in Design & Engineering received a visit from a team of designers and engineers from the James Dyson Foundation. We have a longstanding partnership with the Dyson Foundation, and we are so grateful we get to learn from their experts every year. This year, students were tasked with answering the prompt, “How does design…
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Envisioning the Future of Bicycles at Earth Rider
Juniors in Design & Engineering visited Earth Rider, a full-service, woman-owned bike shop to learn from store-owner and bike expert, Sharon. Sharon is a League Cycling Instructor and a certified Bicycle Technician from the United Bicycle Institute. She shared a wealth of knowledge about different types of bikes and how they have evolved to meet…
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Working with Bikes at Working Bikes
Juniors in Design & Engineering met with Anna, the volunteer coordinator at Working Bikes in Pilsen to learn about the anatomy and the mechanics of bikes. In the second unit of this STEAM course, students have been pursuing the guiding question, “How are bikes designed and engineered to solve specific problems?”. In their pursuit of…
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Better Design at the Greater Good Studio
Juniors in Design & Engineering have been pursuing the guiding question, How does design process impact product and experience?. Specifically, students have been investigating the design of gardening tools and bicycles, and the importance of practicing empathy and designing with inclusivity in mind. As a part of their investigation, they visited Greater Good Studio, a…
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Carrying Water @ The Chicago River
Freshmen in the Water class visited the Chicago River to collect water. In the first unit of this STEAM course, students have been pursuing the guiding question, why is water so common yet so rare? . In their pursuit of an answer, students have been learning about the abundance of water found in living organisms…
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Studying the Chicago River on a Water Taxi
In the first Unit of the Water class, the Freshmen have been pursuing the guiding question, Why is water so common yet so rare?. As a part of their investigation, they studied how people from around the world access water; specifically looking at the accessibility of potable water from natural water sources. The students visited…
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Investigating the Economics of Rideshare at the Chicago Lyft Hub
The Seniors in the Economics course have been investigating the guiding question, How do we make choices in a world of limited resources and limited time?. In the course, students learn how to think like an economist while questioning their own ways of thinking in order to understand them better. In the first unit entitled…
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Creation Stories with Lily Be
In the first unit of the Stories course, Creation, students explored stories from a variety of cultures that try to provide answers to the questions: Why does the world exist?, How did it come into being?, and Why are we here?. As a part of their investigation, students looked for unique creation stories from their…
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