Studio for schools

Upon arrival, we offer interested groups and school classes a short welcome briefing by a visitor service staff member. This includes an introduction to the institution, a spatial orientation and an overview of the current exhibitions.

For every exhibition an introduction, especially designed for teachers and given by a curator and member of the education team, is offered free of charge.

You can book a tour for your school class for every exhibition. A joint tour offers pupils deep insights into current design themes and stimulates discussion and the exchange of ideas.

Viewing, discussing, and designing oneself: an inspiring tour of the exhibition is followed by a practical examination of the respective theme in the studio. Whether it is in the area of product design or digital communication, fashion or handcraft, architecture, photography or the Museum's own collections: the focus is always on the question: "What have these things got to do with me?"

For every exhibition morning appointments (9–11.30am) and afternoon appointments (1.30pm–4pm) on different weekdays can be booked online under "What's on". You can find further information on the workshops under "offers for the exhibitions".

Viewing, discussing and becoming creative: during the dialogue-based tour of the exhibition a small practical examination of the respective theme is made. Whether it is in the area of product design or visual communication, fashion or handcraft, architecture photography of the Museum's own collections: the focus is always on the question "what have these things got to do with me?"

You can find further information on the interactive tours under "offers related to the exhibitions".

Workshops for all school levels, vocational and middle schools

The collection exhibitions Collection Highlights, Ideal Living, Switzerland in World Format and Swiss Design Lounge offer a wide variety of possible links to the students' everyday lives. A dialogue-based tour is followed by a practical part in the studio. From among different workshop themes choose the one that best suits the interests of your class.

Morning appointments (9–11.30am) and afternoon appointments (1.30pm–4pm) on various weekdays can be booked online under "What's on".

Workshop theme #1
Lamp, chair et cetera: living room ideals

Floorlamp or "cloud lamp", folding chair or seating ensembles: different kinds of seating and lighting tell us about the social dreams of the era in which they were made. And what way do you want to live? After taking a walk through the Swiss Design Lounge and the showroom in the exhibition Ideal Living small-scale versions of personal ideal pieces of furniture are built in the studio.


Workshop theme #2
Young Collection: On Collecting and Exhibiting

The new collection exhibitions present around 2000 treasures from the Museum archive. What do you collect? What kind of collector are you? And how do you display the things you collect? After a visit to the exhibitions, different forms of presentation are tried out using the studio's hands-on object collection as well as things that the participants bring with them.


Workshop theme #3
Hot Goods: Design on the Supermarket Shelf

More than almost anything else the packaging of goods reflects the history of our consumption culture: information or seduction? After a research visit to the goods packaging in the Collection Highlights and to the hands-on object collection in the studio, packaging is designed for one's own favorite product.


Workshop theme #4
Great Types: Lettering Experiments

Typography can be a process. It Is the design of image, line, surface and letters. Numerous typographical experiments can be discovered In the exhibitions: in old books or neon signs, of enormous size on posters or tiny, like on a Maggi cube. In the studio the pencil is used to examine what lettering can do apart from just "forming words." Using stop-motion technology the letters can even be made to move.