Evaluating Design-Based Teen Programs at Cooper Hewitt

Program Strategy and Evaluation
Written By Cathy Sigmond

Client: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum | Location: New York, NY

 
 

We evaluated two teen programs at Cooper Hewitt, looking closely at their impact and opportunities for scaling.

OVERVIEW

In 2024-2025, we partnered with Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (CHSDM) to evaluate two of its teen programs: Design Hive (a weekly internship program) and Design Practice (a monthly drop in program). 

The goal of the evaluation was to assess the impact of each program alongside their intended outcomes, and develop recommendations for ways CHSDM might adjust their teen programming to better meet the needs of their diverse teen audience. We also provided insights to inform decision making around scaling up the programs.

APPROACH

We collected data using two methods (one for Design Hive and one for Design Practice):

  • Focus Groups: To study the impact of Design Hive, we facilitated two interactive focus groups that included all the teens in the program—one took place early in the program and served as a baseline for comparison; the other took place at the end and focused on reflecting back on students’ growth. 

  • Program Observations: In order to understand the impact of Design Practice, we conducted three observations of the program on three different days. During the observation, a data collector took detailed notes about the program, noting contextual information, participants’ behavior and conversations, and program facilitator behavior and conversations.

CLIENT TAKEAWAYS

We found that both programs support participants’ creativity, expand their ideas about design, and provide a safe environment to socialize and experiment with different materials. We encouraged CHSDM to keep these essential tenets when considering scaling either program .

Our evaluation also highlighted some questions to consider around how best to balance the supportive atmosphere of Design Hive with the rigorous demands of its final project, as well as opportunities to play with the format of Design Practice to accommodate more participants without burdening program staff.

CHSDM staff will continue thinking about different formats for Design Practice (e.g., offering the same program twice a month) and ways to build in time to slow down and reflect during Design Hive.

Cathy Sigmond

Cathy brings many years of experience in education and experience design to her role as Head of Strategy at Kera Collective. 

Having previously worked in a variety of educational settings, Cathy is driven by her constant fascination and delight at how people make discoveries about the familiar and the unfamiliar. 

Cathy loves helping to shape experiences that spark curiosity and make a difference in people’s lives. She particularly enjoys the rapid, iterative nature of design-based research and the deep insights that come from qualitative research, especially on projects exploring interactions with the digital and built environments. 

Cathy shares her passion for experience design research widely and regularly guest lectures for graduate programs, including the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Exhibition and Experience Design Program and the Pratt Institute’s School of Information. Cathy served as the co-chair of the Museum Computer Network’s Human-Centered Design special interest group from 2018-2021.

Outside of work, you can usually find Cathy playing soccer, thrifting, or making her way through her large cookbook collection. 

Cathy’s favorite museum experiences are immersive; she will always vividly remember walking through the giant heart at the Franklin Institute, being surrounded by birds at the Peabody Essex Museum, and hearing centuries-old instruments come to life at the Museum of Musical Instruments. 

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