Next time you’re looking for something to do, squash boredom by getting creative with your activities. Liven up your next walk or essential outing by discovering the details in the design elements of your surroundings.
Post your photos and text on Instagram using #huntingfences and #aiadc. Don’t forget to tag us at @DistrictArchCenter. Don’t forget to challenge your friends to do the same!
Remember, social distancing is important when you venture outdoors. Be safe and have fun!
Discover a new hunt each week!
Week 1 - Fences
Week 2 - Windows
Week 3 - Doors
Week 4 - Columns
Week 5 - Faces
Do good fences make good neighbors? Good question in this day and age of stay-at-home social distancing. Though fences are symbols of division, perhaps they can also be examples of connection.
This week, hunt for fences on your next walk around the neighborhood. Ask yourself these questions on your hunt:
- How many types of fences can you find?
- What materials do you see?
- Can you spot a pattern or construction technique?
- Can you peek through the fence or is it solid
- How tall are you compared to the fence?
Fences are designed to serve as a barrier, boundary, or enclosure of an area. Usually made of wood or metal, they provide privacy and security. Some fences are short while others are tall. Some fences are plain and simple while others are fancy with decoration. What else can you discover about fences?
When you get home, find out more and tell us something we don’t know. Then, post your photos and text on Instagram using #huntingfences and #aiadc. Don’t forget to tag us at @DistrictArchCenter. Don’t forget to challenge your friends to do the same!
Remember, social distancing is important when you venture outdoors. Be safe and have fun!
Open a window and take in the world!
This week, hunt for windows on your next walk around the neighborhood. Ask yourself these questions on your hunt:
- How many types of windows can you find?
- Do you see rectangular, round, or square windows?
- How about an unusual shape?
- How many panes of glass does the window have?
- Is the window on a house, a school, or a church?
Windows are designed to pass light, sight, sound, and air between spaces. They come in every shape and size, and some windows are operable while others are fixed. Windows can be clear, translucent, or stained with colors; some you can see through, others you can’t. What else can you discover about windows?
When you get home, find out more and tell us something we don’t know. Then, post your photos and text on Instagram using #huntingwindows and #aiadc. Don’t forget to tag us at @DistrictArchCenter. Don’t forget to challenge your friends to do the same!
Remember, social distancing is important when you venture outdoors. Be safe and have fun!
Why can’t the door leave its home? It’s stuck in a jamb. Ba dum tss! One of our favorite things about buildings are their points of entry. Let’s explore the many faces of doors.
This week, hunt for doors on your next walk around the neighborhood. Ask yourself these questions on your hunt:
• How many variations of doors can you find?
• What materials do you see?
• Can you spot lines, patterns, or shapes in the door?
• Is the door on a house, a restaurant, or a garage?
• Is it a front door, side doors, or back door to a building?
Doors are designed to provide entry into a building or space. You can find swinging, pocket, and roller doors, and if you look hard enough, you can even find hidden doors and trap doors! Doors are made in many shapes and sizes out of materials like aluminum, glass, steel, or wood. Some doors are simple while others are decorative. What else can you discover about doors?
When you get home, find out more and tell us something we don’t know. Then, post your photos and text on Instagram using #huntingdoors and #aiadc. Don’t forget to tag us at @DistrictArchCenter. Don’t forget to challenge your friends to do the same!
Remember, social distancing is important when you venture outdoors. Be safe and have fun!
You can spot columns all over Washington, DC. If you’re lucky and know where to look, you could come across a carved capital with a cat looking back at you. Hmm… where might this be?
This week, hunt for columns on your next walk around the neighborhood. Ask yourself these questions on your hunt:
• Do you see a tall monumental column or a short modest one?
• Is the column made of metal, stone, or wood, and does it appear decorative or utilitarian?
• What time period do you think the column was constructed?
• Does the column belong to a house, church, museum, or office building?
Freestanding columns eliminate the need for a solid structural wall, designed to support the weight of a building element overhead. Unlike columns, pilasters are attached to a wall and usually ornamental rather than structural. What else can you discover about columns?
When you get home, find out more and tell us something we don’t know. Then, post your photos and text on Instagram using #huntingcolumns and #aiadc. Don’t forget to tag us at @DistrictArchCenter. Don’t forget to challenge your friends to do the same!
Remember, social distancing is important when you venture outdoors. Be safe and have fun!
In the built world around us, we can find all kinds of human faces staring back at us. They can appear joyful, melancholy, and contemplative, even terrifying!
This week, hunt for faces on your next walk around the neighborhood. Ask yourself these questions on your hunt:
• Is the face that of a man, woman, or child?
• Where and on what does the face appear?
• What is the face trying to tell me with its expression?
• For what reason do you think the face belongs there?
Faces have been carved and molded in human likeness for centuries, and incorporated into the built environment as storytelling elements and cultural symbols. You can spot faces around doorways, above windows, and on lampposts. You’ll find them in cemeteries, on memorials, and on cathedrals. What else can you discover about faces?
When you get home, find out more and tell us something we don’t know. Then, post your photos and text on Instagram using #huntingfaces and #aiadc. Don’t forget to tag us at @DistrictArchCenter. Don’t forget to challenge your friends to do the same!
Remember, social distancing is important when you venture outdoors. Be safe and have fun!