Plan your visit to The CJM!

When designing a new building for The Contemporary Jewish Museum (The CJM), architect Daniel Libeskind was inspired by the Hebrew word for life: chai. The two parts of the building resemble the two Hebrew letters chet and yud, which make up the word chai.

A drawing of The CJM's building, highlighting how the left side of the building resembles the letter "yud" and the right side of the building resembles the letter "chet."

In this Creative Spark, you'll design your own building based on a favorite word!

Instructions

1. Gather your materials

  • Pencil
  • Paper
  • Ruler or protractor
  • Colored tape or colored pencils
  • Scissors

A photo of crafting materials, including a white piece of paper, colored pencils, a ruler, and tape

2. Make your building

  • Choose a favorite word. You will design your building around this word. It can be a wish for the world, something that brings you joy, or even an action or feeling.
  • Write your word in large letters on your paper. Play with how you write the letters! You can make some small, some large, some up high on the page, and some down low. Your word will be the foundation of the building.
  • If you like, create a building shape that matches the meaning of your word. For example, if your word is "dream," you could make your building into a giant thought bubble.
  • Build onto your letters with shapes, such as rectangles, arches, or triangles. Color inside and around your letters with pencils or colorful tape. Add in entryways, stairs, windows, or other features you want to include. You can also place a piece of colored paper behind your artwork.
  • When your building is complete, give it a name. This example is called the Equal Community Art Center.

A piece of paper with a drawing of a building on it, inspired by the word "Equal"

A close-up photo of the word building, showing the name of the building as "Equal Community Art Center"

3. Connect

  • We'd love to see your buildings! Share a photo on social media and tag us @jewseum on Instagram or Twitter, or use the hashtags #JewseumFromHome or #CreativeSpark.
Building Stories

More than one hundred years ago, the building that is now The CJM was an electric power station. When architect Daniel Libeskind designed The CJM’s new building and built its provocative extensions, he was inspired by the Jewish phrase l'chaim ("to life”) because of The Museum's mission to be a lively center for sharing and exploring Jewish life. 

Libeskind has said, “I think [architecture] communicates the richness of culture. When you do a building, you are also communicating a story; you are telling something.”

What story does your building tell?

Keep exploring

There are more hidden words and symbols built into the architecture at The CJM. Explore further!

LEARN MORE
Supporters

Family Programs are made possible by major support from Bank of America. Additional support is provided by Blick Art Materials.

School and Teacher Programs are made possible by generous support from the Jim Joseph Foundation, The Bavar Family Foundation, California Arts Council, The Ullendorff Memorial Foundation, and Toole Family Charitable Foundation.