The Material World: Collaborative Approaches to Materials Education

By Carolyn Shafer and Natalie Moore

"This project shows how cross-campus collaboration at Pratt is advancing materials literacy and sustainability education. Drawing from the work of the PALS Future of Materials Working Group, the booth will feature examples from GiveTake, the Pratt Sustainability Center, and the Foundations BioLab.

Visitors will be able to explore a selection of material samples and resources that demonstrate how these initiatives expand access to sustainable materials, support hands-on experimentation, and integrate systems thinking into creative education. Examples will include reclaimed art materials from GiveTake, sustainable materials resources and tools from the Pratt Sustainability Center, and bio-based material experiments emerging from the new Foundations BioLab.

Together, these examples illustrate how collaboration across Pratt’s departments, labs, and resource centers strengthens materials education and supports new approaches to teaching and research. The booth also serves as an institutional example of the collaborative model being developed through the PALS (Partnership for Academic Leadership in Sustainability) cohort, where art and design schools work together to share resources, research, and pedagogical strategies related to the material world."