Photo provided Exhibit Columbus and community partners will host Next Generation Day in downtown Columbus from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 30.
Exhibit Columbus and community partners will host Next Generation Day in downtown Columbus from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 30.
This family-friendly free event will encourage youth of all ages, from elementary to high school students, and families to explore the 2023 Exhibit Columbus Exhibition, “Public by Design.”
“As we work to encourage the next generations to love, appreciate, and respect the extraordinary architecture and design in our community, this is a big day for our organization and our collaborators,” said Laura Garrett, Landmark Columbus Foundation Director of Partnerships. “Together, we have built one of my favorite days in the community—a day of exploration and joy specifically for youth to experience each and every Exhibit Columbus installation.”
Next Generation Day kicks off at noon at the Bartholomew County Public Library’s Library Plaza with opening remarks by Davida Harden, a dance performance of Bharatanatyam, a South Indian classical dance form, by Aanartana Arts, a poetry reading by 2023 Poetry Out Loud National Champion and Columbus resident Sreepadaarchana Munjuluri, snow cones by SnoBiz, and music. Also at Library Plaza is the installation Designed by the public by J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize Recipient Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO with fun activities and objects available for play.
Unveiled that day will be the over 30 miniature installations created by sixth-grade elementary students, each answering the question, “What does downtown need right now?” These projects were designed and built in the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. (BCSC) Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Program over the past year. The miniature installations will be displayed in a custom-outfitted Columbus Area Career Connection (C4) travel trailer.
“I think people are going to be amazed by what these sixth graders have built and want to show to this community,” said Davida Harden, Curriculum Specialist for BCSC STEM initiatives. “Each classroom has been working on this for a long time, dreaming up a place downtown that they want to experience, which has helped educate them about the opportunities and challenges associated with our community.”
Attendees are encouraged to pick up a free Exhibit Columbus Activity Guide, a fun workbook with games and drawing exercises, to explore all 13 installations via the exhibition route and map on the front cover.
Special for this event will be a lanyard to decorate with custom buttons that represent each installation.
The buttons may be collected with help from Council for Youth Development’s (CYD) Youth Ambassadors (YA) and Indiana University J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program students at five locations around downtown Columbus: Library Plaza, Machi at 6th Street and Washington Street, Ground Rules at 5th and Brown Street, at A Carousel for Columbus on 4th Street as part of Fiesta Latina, and at Echoes of the Hill at Mill Race Park as part of Columbus Pride Festival.
“We are so excited about Next Generation Day and how we are engaging youth in so many ways,” said Sara Dunlap, director of Council for Youth Development. “This will help us achieve one of our goals to create a welcoming environment that empowers active participation and contribution toward the growth of self and community.”
This event is created in collaboration with the Council for Youth Development, the Bartholomew County Public Library, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation STEM and C4 Programs, and the Indiana University J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program; in addition, with the Columbus Pride Festival and Fiesta Latina.
