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National Design Week Kicks Off

National Design Museum is now offering free museum admission through October 25.

Laurel Petriello -- Interior Design, 10/21/2008 12:00:00 AM

The Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is grooming a new generation of designers via its National Design Week, which kicks off today and runs through October 25.

Now in its third year, National Design Week aims to draw attention to design and the way it affects our everyday lives. To celebrate, the Cooper-Hewitt is offering complimentary admission to all museum visitors this week, as well as a bevy of lectures and online resources. New this year is Design Across America, a feature on the museum's web site dedicated to showcasing design events occurring in cities across the country.

Promoting design education for young people, the museum will present a Teen Design Fair—hosted by Project Runway's Tim Gunn—and Educator Open House. Additionally, the Cooper-Hewitt offers an online Educator Resource Center complete with over 250 design-themed lesson plans for teachers, as well as chat rooms and blogs for educators to swap ideas, stories, and information.

The week-long event will culminate with the ninth annual National Design Awards, recognizing excellence in design across multiple disciplines, from landscape and architectural to fashion and graphic design. Winners, who were announced in May, include Tom Kundig of Olson Sundburg Kundig Allen Architects for architecture design, and Interior Design Hall of Famer David Rockwell of Rockwell Group for interior design, among others.

Polls are still open for the 2008 People's Design Award, so cast your vote today. Votes will be accepted through October 21, and all award winners will be honored at the annual gala on October 23.