Design & Engineering

Pre-Visit Materials

• Vizcaya is a National Historic Landmark and museum. Before it became a museum, it was the home of James Deering.
• James Deering was the vice-president of International Harvester, an American agricultural manufacturing company, or a company that made machines for farming.
• Vizcaya is made up of three parts: the Main House, Formal Gardens, and Village.
• The construction of the Main House began in 1914 and ended in 1916.
• The Formal Gardens were completed in 1922.
• Vizcaya’s design is inspired by countryside Italian villas with a subtropical, caribbean influence.

About Vizcaya

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• Key Focus: Students will explore how symmetry, perspective, and geometry influence Vizcaya’s architecture and design.
• Students will participate in activities focused on symmetry, perspective, and geometry.
• Students will identify 2D and 3D shapes in Vizcaya’s design and architecture.
• Students will apply concepts they learned to construct a structure from blocks (2nd-4th) or design a floorplan of their dream house (5th-6th).

What will I be learning on my tour?

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• Architecture: planning, designing, and constructing buildings or any other structures.
• Design: creation of a plan or common symbols for the construction of an object, system or measurable human interaction (as in blueprints, engineering drawings, etc.).​
• Engineering: creative application of science, math, and evidence to the innovation, design, construction, operation and maintenance of structures, machines, materials, devices, systems, processes, and organizations.​
• Geometry: math that studies lines and points, and how they come together to form figures and shapes. When shapes are flat or 2D we talk about plane geometry. When shapes are solid or 3D we talk about solid geometry.​
• Preserve: To prolong the life of cultural objects and places from the past and present, by preventing physical damage.​
• Symmetry: A shape or an object has symmetry if it can be divided into two identical pieces; one-half is the mirror image of the other half.​

Vocabulary

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Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is over 100 years old. It is important that we work together to preserve this historic estate. During our visit, we must:

• Keep our hands to ourselves
• Leave food and drinks outside of the house
• Not use flash when taking photos
• Use our inside voices
• Be aware of our surroundings
• Leave our bags at school or on the bus

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Thank you for your help and cooperation!

Visiting a Museum: Rules

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9:45 AM Arrive at Vizcaya

Students will be welcomed and divided into groups at the Admissions Booth. Staff will collect lunches and bags.

10:00 AM Visit the Main House and Formal Gardens

12:00 PM Lunch

1:00 PM Depart Vizcaya

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Itinerary

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Watch to learn more about your visit!

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We look forward to welcoming you at

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens!

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Florida State Standards:

MA.5.GR.1, MA.912.GR.2.4, MA.912.GR.5, VA.5.O.1.1, VA.68.O.1.3

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Additional Resources

The Technology Early Adopter - Yours Truly - Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (virtualvizcaya.com)

Virtual Vizcaya

Vizcaya Construction – Vizcaya

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For more information on your visit, please email:

Group Tour Reservations: group.tours@vizcaya.org

Gabriella Roman, School Programs Manager: gabriella.roman@vizcaya.org

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For Teachers:

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