Read and Build: A Few Blocks
Drop in any time between 9am and 12pm to enjoy multiple readings of "A Few Blocks" by Cybele Young. Together we'll learn about architecture through building block activities.
Programs & Events at CAC
At Chicago Architecture Center, our programs and events help you think differently about the places we live, work and play. Get behind-the-scenes access to the city's architectural treasures. Practice your design skills while you play with your family. Participate in expert-led discussions about the latest urban design issues. With these offerings and so many more to choose from, we guarantee there’s something inspiring and fun for you at CAC.
Program Archive
Programs by Format
Programs by Audience
Back to School Block Party
Celebrate the beginning of the school year with CAF at our block party—featuring actual building blocks! Drop in anytime between 10am and 2pm on the Saturday before Labor Day, bring your family and friends and join us for fun architecture and design…
Saturday Studio: Interior Design
This Saturday Studio will be led by Oak Park Station lead Evan Watson from FitzGerald Associates Architects. Alongside the architect, students will learn what it takes to make a building beautiful. Conceptualizing everything from doorknobs to draperies…
Auxiliary Board River Cruise Fundraiser: Party Like It’s 1966!
Join the Chicago Architecture Foundation Auxiliary Board for the annual river cruise fundraiser benefiting CAF’s Taliesin Scholars. We're continuing CAF's 50th Anniversary celebrations with cocktails, small bites, raffle prizes and on-board entertainment…
Read and Build: Last Stop on Market Street
Drop in any time between 9am and 12pm to enjoy multiple readings of "Last Stop on Market Street" by Matt Pena. At each of our activity stations, we'll explore what makes a neighborhood special and paint with patterns to create a mixed-media community…
Members Only Travel Program: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Join us for an exclusive four-day, three-night experience featuring Pittsburgh's architectural treasures. Along the way, you’ll find out why "The New Yorker" magazine said, "If Pittsburgh were situated somewhere in the heart of Europe, tourists would…
Summer Camp: Minecraft: Build a City
What does a city need to be green and great? Campers ages 11-14 will explore solutions in the Loop and build the answers in Minecraft.
Summer Camp: Catwalk Playlist
Design isn't just about architecture—it's a part of the fashion and music worlds, too! Campers ages 11-14 will explore how fashion, music and architecture share ideas and change throughout the decades. We'll tour the Loop, meet design professionals…
Saturday Studio: Floor by Floor
This Saturday Studio will be led by Oak Park Station lead Evan Watson from FitzGerald Associates Architects. With the architect, students will make decisions, learn about what needs to go inside a building, and build out a design, floor by floor.
Summer Camp: Passport to Architecture
We'll explore architecture from a bird's eye view as we follow the journey of Speck the Pigeon, in a globe-hopping tour of the world's most iconic buildings. Alongside Speck, students ages 7-11 will become passionate architecture explorers through walking…
LEGO® Build Workshop: Wrigley Field
Sports draw big crowds in Chicago. Did you know that Wrigley Field can hold more than 42,000 people? Explore how stadiums are designed with crowds of cheering fans in mind, and create your own LEGO® baseball stadium.
Educator Institute: Chicago Skyscrapers: Building Through the Curriculum
This workshop will explore the technology, design, and people behind the city's tall buildings and connect directly to your STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) curriculum.
Read and Build: Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
Drop in any time between 9am and 12pm to enjoy multiple readings of "Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site" by Sherri Duskey Rinker. Together we'll learn about the tools and trucks on a construction site and decorate our own take-home hard hats.
Summer Camp: Skyline Explorers
Have you ever looked at a skyscraper and wondered, "How did they do that?" Campers ages 7-11 will get to know the stories behind the skyline in this five-day camp. We'll explore buildings in the Loop, hosted by architects and designers, then write and…
Saturday Studio: Site Specific Development
This Saturday Studio will be led by Oak Park Station lead Evan Watson from FitzGerald Associates Architects. Students will be challenged to design and build a series of buildings for a specific site to meet client needs. Students will learn about massing…