Rick Valicenti

Archeworks is an alternative design school with a difference. In place of a traditional curriculum, students work in multidisciplinary teams with nonprofit partners to create design solutions for social and environmental concerns.

Only one percent of the water in the Great Lakes is renewed each year. Of that one percent, nearly half comes from groundwater flowing into the lakes. The groundwater is drying up throughout the region due to continuing development and wasteful habits.

Water is life’s most valuable natural resource and a vital part of Chicago’s past and its future.

In response, Moving Design and Archeworks will collaborate to form One Drop: a three-week, after school initiative designed to engage the next generation in basic water issues and inspire them to make a difference.

Week 1: Students track their water use online

Week 2: A daily 15-minute classroom lesson and group activities

Week 3: Students track their water use online again, using what they’ve learned to reveal the difference each student has made

One Drop is a simple learning initiative for use within Chicago Public Schools created by Moving Design in collaboration with Archeworks, a not-for-profit educational and research institution focused on envisioning ways Chicago can become a sustainable urban model for dealing with the local/global water scarcity dilema.

One Drop is tailored for the Chicago Public School intermediate learners via a three-week after-school curriculum which leads students to a responsible, sustainable, and healthy way of living in harmony with our water and world.

One Drop consists of an experiential workbook of lessons and activities for students with easily accessible information for the teacher, and a simple website allowing students to track their individual water use.