As the Building marks 90 years in 2021, an updated curriculum for student group visits to the brand-new Observatory Experience offers new academic rigor in engineering, history, tech, and sustainability
NEW YORK — The Empire State Building (ESB), in partnership with Bank Street College of Education, announced its updated, interactive lesson plans for student group visits to its brand new $165 million Observatory upgrade. The curriculum follows New York State Learning Standards for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) and social studies curricula and has grade level appropriate lesson plans for elementary, middle, and high school students. The lesson plans offer learning before, during, and after a visit to the World’s Most Famous Building and its newly reimagined Observatory Experience.
“Bank Street College of Education created these updated curricula to make students’ visits to our Observatory Experience’s immersive digital and tactile exhibits more than just a tourist experience,” said Jean-Yves Ghazi, president of the Empire State Building Observatory. “We have always offered lesson plans for school groups and as we celebrate our 90th year, we have updated the classroom engagement with our modern marvel in engineering and energy efficiency.”
Teachers and students will utilize the new curriculum to learn about the building’s engineering, design process, workforce, major technological elements, and industry-leading deep energy retrofit. The Observatory Experience completed a $165 million development in December 2019 that complements all elements of the program and offers students the chance to experience the energy-efficient building from bottom to top. Lessons start with interactive digital exhibits in the second-floor museum and continue up to the open-air 86th Floor Observatory.
The $165 million renovations include premier indoor environmental quality measures – such as MERV 13 air filters and active bi-polar ionization – for visitor confidence, and led to the building’s achievement as first in the Americas to achieve the WELL Health-Safety Rating.
“The Empire State Building field trips align perfectly with Bank Street’s educational approach, which recognizes that all individuals learn best when they are actively engaged with materials, ideas, and people,” said Joy Lundeen Ellebbane, Bank Street’s director of continuing professional studies. “Experiences and lessons like these provide authentic opportunities for deep, hands-on learning, and we’re happy to contribute to the Empire State Building’s offerings, especially in its 90th anniversary year.”
The full curriculum can be viewed and downloaded here. Interested educators can contact Kai-Ti Kao at [email protected] for more information and to set up group visits.
For more information about the Empire State Building, please visit http://www.esbnyc.com
About the Empire State Building
The Empire State Building, “The World’s Most Famous Building,” owned by Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (ESRT: NYSE), soars 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan from base to antenna. The $165 million reimagination of the Empire State Building Observatory Experience creates an all-new experience with a dedicated guest entrance, an interactive museum with nine galleries, and a redesigned 102nd Floor Observatory with floor-to-ceiling windows. The journey to the world-famous 86th Floor Observatory, the only 360-degree, open-air observatory with views of New York and beyond, orients visitors for their entire New York City experience and covers everything from the building’s iconic history to its current place in pop-culture. Learn more at www.esbnyc.com. 2021 is the 90th anniversary year of the Building which officially opened on May 1, 1931. Declared “America’s Favorite Building” by the American Institute of Architects, as well as the world’s most popular travel destination by Uber and the #1 New York City attraction by Lonely Planet, it welcomes more than 4 million annual visitors from around the world.
Since 2011, the building has been fully powered by renewable wind electricity, and its many floors primarily house a diverse array of office tenants such as LinkedIn, Shutterstock, and Global Brands Group, as well as retail options like STATE Grill and Bar, Tacombi, and Starbucks. For more information and Observatory Experience tickets visit esbnyc.com or follow the building’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Weibo, YouTube, or TikTok.
About Empire State Realty Trust
Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) owns, manages, operates, acquires and repositions office and retail properties in Manhattan and the greater New York metropolitan area, including the Empire State Building, the “World’s Most Famous Building.” The company’s office and retail portfolio covers 10.1 million rentable square feet, as of September 30, 2021, which consists of 9.4 million rentable square feet across 14 office properties, including nine in Manhattan, three in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and two in Westchester County, New York; as well as approximately 700,000 rentable square feet in the retail portfolio.
Empire State Realty Trust is a leader in energy efficiency in the built environment and sustainability space, with 76 percent of the eligible portfolio ENERGY STAR certified and 100 percent fully powered by renewable wind electricity. As the first commercial real estate portfolio in the Americas to achieve the evidence-based, third-party verified WELL Health-Safety Rating for health and safety, ESRT additionally earned the highest possible GRESB 5 Star Rating and Green Star recognition for sustainability performance in real estate and was named a Fitwel Champion for healthy, high-performance buildings. To learn more about Empire State Realty Trust, visit esrtreit.com and follow ESRT on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Bank Street College of Education
Bank Street College of Education is a recognized leader in early childhood education, teacher and leader preparation, and the development of innovative practice in school systems across the country. For one hundred years, Bank Street’s focus has been improving the education of children and their teachers by applying to the education process all available knowledge about learning and growth, and by connecting teaching and learning meaningfully to the outside world. Learn more about Bank Street Children’s Programs, Graduate School of Education, and Bank Street Education Center at bankstreet.edu.
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING LAUNCHES COMPLIMENTARY STEAM AND SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM FOR STUDENTS, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
SOURCE Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.
