Berkeley Carroll’s second graders are hard at work preparing for their City Planning Project, an interdisciplinary unit designed to help students imagine and shape the environment they will one day inherit. Along the way, they are building civic awareness, strengthening problem-solving skills, and applying STEAM learning in meaningful, hands-on ways.

To kick off the project, students visited the Queens Museum to experience the Panorama of the City of New York, a breathtaking 9,335-square-foot architectural “miniature” and the largest scale model of its kind in the world. The Panorama depicts every building across New York City’s five boroughs, offering students a remarkable bird’s-eye view of the city they call home.

As they explored the exhibit, students demonstrated impressive knowledge of New York City geography, identifying bridges, landmark buildings, and neighborhoods, while gathering inspiration for their own designs. Back at school, they translated their observations into detailed blueprints, carefully considering what makes a city functional, vibrant, and welcoming.

In STEAM class, those plans will come to life, with each student constructing an individual cardboard city block, and together the blocks will form an imaginative and thoughtfully designed collaborative model city, built by BC’s own city planners.

As part of the unit, students also received a visit from special guest speaker Paul Salama, Founder of Civic Transformation Advisors, Urban Tech Fellow at Cornell Tech, and Berkeley Carroll parent. Salama spoke with students about the key questions urban planners must consider: Who lives there? What do they need to thrive? How do we design spaces that serve communities well?

We thank Paul Salama for sharing his expertise and inspiring our students. We look forward to seeing the cities our future planners, designers, engineers, and leaders will build in the years ahead.

View the Guest Speaker Photo Gallery Here