TOOLBOX /
BSLA
REFLECTIONS ON
OLMSTED’S TOOLBOX
RIGHT
Olmsted’s Toolbox
at Fairsted
Re f le c t i on s o n Te a c h i n g & Le a r ni n g
w i t h Hi s t o r i c D e s i g n To ol s
LIZA STEARNS
Picture this. I am sitting cross-legged
with 12 eight-year-olds on the worn
fir floor of the Olmsteds’ century-old
design office in Brookline. We are half
way through our tour, and the students
who surround me are in various states
of animation and repose. A gal who
seems to take in the world with her
hands traces patterns in the wood grain
while we wait for her peers to settle in.
I am drawn in by the musings of her
fingers. I wonder if she is escaping the
confines of this storied space or moving
more deeply into it. I have to believe it
is the latter. After years of working here
with students, it seems to me that there
is something about the touching, the
sensing, and the breathing in of this old
place and its many layers that ignites a
sense of wonder in young minds.
I do a quick survey of the group to
assess energy and mood. I see a yawn,
an eager look, an elbow misplaced and
the grumpy scowl it invokes. Time to
pick up the pace. With gloved hands, I
pull out a stack of yellowed index cards
and thrust them into the crowd, “So,
which of you had a chance to explore
cards like these in the classroom?” Eyes
light up and arms fly into the air. The
design “tools” work their magic. The
program is back in motion.
S
o goes the rhythm of teaching and
learning that takes place on fall and
spring mornings at Olmsted National
Historic Site. The students in this scenario
are taking part in Good Neighbors:
Landscape Design & Community Building,
the park’s award-winning education
program for third graders. The program
takes place at Fairsted—the historic
Brookline home and design office of
Boston Society of Landscape Architects Fieldbook
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