Landmark West! makes learning about architecture, neighborhood history and historic preservation come alive! Using our ground-breaking student workbook, My Preservation Journal (click here for sample pages), as well as lessons, walking tours, and workshops – free to NYC public schools – LW! is raising the next generation of preservationists and community advocates. In the 2007-2008 school year, we reached 40 classrooms on the Upper West Side, inspiring over 1000 students (grades 1 to 12) and teachers to become more engaged in their historic surroundings. Demand is high, and the numbers keep growing!

KPF engages students in the built environment with an interdisciplinary approach. Below is a brief summary of our programs.

Neighborhood Explorers (Kindergarten and First Grade): Students explore the buildings in the neighborhood surrounding their school and discover the different components that make up a community.

Building Detectives (First and Second Grade): Students explore the basic parts of buildings and how these elements contribute to their structure and design.

Neighborhood Poetry (Second through Fifth Grade): Using neighborhood buildings as inspiration, students create, illustrate, and share poems.

Geometry In Design (Third Grade): Students consider how architects and engineers use shapes and patterns in the design and construction of a building.

Preservation is “Green!” (Fourth Grade): Comparing energy output, building materials, layout, and green space, students discover the “greenness” of historic building practices and create their own using recycled materials.

Local History Detectives (Fourth and Fifth Grade): Students study the past, discover the present, and plan for the future of their neighborhood.

Design Detectives (Fourth and Fifth Grade): Using My Preservation Journal, students study the styles of historic buildings, and create their own contextual design to fit in with an existing streetscape.

Preservation Projects (Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade): These customized advocacy sessions are designed around a specific building that Landmark West! is working to protect in the school’s neighborhood and consist of letter-writing advocacy campaigns and classroom debates.

Create a Local Walking Tour (Fifth and Sixth Grade): In this extensive program, students investigate their local community in-depth as they plan, research, write, illustrate, and implement their own neighborhood guide.

To schedule sessions with your class or to learn more about the program, please call us at 212-496-8110 or email us at landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org .

Teacher Testimonials
Alan Wallman, 2nd grade, PS 166
“The students were provided with experiences that they would not ordinarily have. The students really enjoyed the program, especially constructing their neighborhood. This program really supported my Social Studies curriculum.”

Lin Balinsky, 2nd grade, PS 145
“Part of our Social Studies is about urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods. The walks and activities helped students pay close attention to what is here in our own highly urban neighborhood. I definitely want to invite the program back into my classroom next year!”