MOOS @ Shaker Heights
In April 2016, the MOOS program began work with students living in The City of Shaker Heights’ Moreland neighborhood. Supporting the mission of the Moreland Innovation Zone and collaborating with community organizations like Shaker African American Moms, MOOS students design and build physical interventions that enhance their neighborhood and build community.
Specific sites for MOOS pieces are selected collaboratively by project leaders and the MOOS students, and are concentrated in public parks and vacant City-owned lots. Currently, installations built by the MOOS Shaker team can be found installed in Hildana Park on Chagrin Blvd and in the Van Aken District. Workshops in the summer of 2020 with this veteran group have been full of MOOS firsts: new pandemic-related safety protocols, virtual design workshops held remotely, and experimentation with a new material, concrete.
Constructed by the students, the project deliverables are temporary and permanent physical enhancements installed in their neighborhood. Projects to date include outdoor furniture, play structures, public art/engagement installations, streetscape improvements, and other student-conceived projects. Using inquiry-based learning through hands-on experiences and interdisciplinary studies, the program provides enriching out of classroom experiences that promote physical activity, foster social interaction, and connect youth with their communities. MOOS helps to create confident, civic-minded young people skilled in problem solving, and capable of creative thinking.
Making Our Own Space @ Shaker Heights is made possible through the generous support of Starting Point, in collaboration with the City of Shaker Heights, MyCom, and the Shaker Heights Youth Center.
