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1969

Touchstone Center for Children founded as a non-profit educational organization by Richard Lewis in New York City in the belief that all persons have natural creative and artistic capacities, which, when encouraged and allowed to develop, find unique expression in each individual.

Touchstone Players & the Little Theatre of the Deaf present A Winter Festival of Poetry at the Manhattan Country School.

1970

Touchstone Players tour District 12 in the Bronx with its original production of I Sing to Myself, a dramatization and reading of poetry for and by children.

The Center presents Jungle Day, a school wide arts project at the Manhattan-Country School in association with students at the Bank Street College of Education and artist-teachers of the Center.

1971

Touchstone Players perform at Children's Theatre Fair at Lincoln Center and the Asia Society presenting There Are Two Lives, an original production of the Center based on poetry by children of Japan.

Arts and Education Program established at PS 9, Manhattan, with a major three-year grant from the Edward J. Noble Foundation.

1972

Prints and Poems of Japanese Children, an exhibition assembled by the Center, accompanied by a series of weekend workshops for families exploring Japanese poetry and print-making, is exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Origins Workshop, exploring, through original myth, poetry, and art, the origins of the universe and the earth, begun with teachers and children at the Children's Workshop School.

1973

The Center initiates Saturday workshops for teachers and artists entitled Transformations at the Center's workshop space in conjunction with teacher workshops at the Workshop Center for Open Education at City College – and at the Creative Teaching Workshop.

The Flower Project, a series of large murals by children expressing the beginnings of the life of flowers on the earth, hung as a permanent installation at PS 9.

1974

Center establishes a "studio" at PS 9 for teachers in the school who wish to experiment with art materials and subsequently develop arts projects in their individual classrooms.

Webster College in St. Louis and Touchstone Center collaborate on credit-bearing teacher workshops in the arts and the imaginative process presented by the Center.

1975

Multi-disciplinary arts project begun at PS 9 for children, teachers and parents to create an imaginary "forest" in empty classroom of the school culminating in a community festival to celebrate the beginnings of this five-year project.

Center presents a series of after-school arts-based thematic workshops at PS 9 for teachers: Voyages to Miniature Worlds, Of Kings, Queens and Castles, and Who Made the Sky?

1976

Learning and Imagination workshops begun for teachers interested in links between imaginative thought and learning.

Center continues its Forest Project at PS 9 focusing on exploring with children and teachers the scientific and aesthetic experience of the sun and the moon, the first of many such yearly thematic explorations based on "themes" developed and made a part of the evolving forest created by the children of the school.

1977

With a grant from the Exxon Corporation, Touchstone establishes Touchstone-Exxon Fellowship Program for teachers through out New York City public schools interested in participating in the Center's long-term thematic projects.

Center sponsors workshops for children, in association with the Center for School Development of New York City, at the American Museum of Natural History entitled, Sing We of Creeping and Crawling Things.

1978

Humankind: The First Artisans becomes the central theme for the year of Center's residency at PS 9.

Original theatre pieces by Richard Lewis, Cave and Creature Tales presented in conjunction with opening of major exhibitions at the American Museum of Natural History on pre-historic art - and amphibians and reptiles.

Haiku, an original exhibition created by the Center, tours New York State through Gallery Association of New York State.

1979

Center sponsors and organizes Versions of the Traditional, the first of a series of yearly readings by poets and anthropologists at the American Museum of Natural History.

What the Waters Said, a series of day-long workshops for children and their families, held at the Wave Hill Environmental Center.

1980

The Expression of Nature: The Arts in Chinese and Japanese Culture becomes the central theme of the Center's residency at PS 9 - and its expanded residency at PS 87 in Manhattan.

Moving Mountain Festival, a series of workshops and performances based on Asian poetry, presented for the general public in parks in Staten Island and Manhattan.

1981

Center's work on the role of imaginative thought and thematic learning presented at Fordham University, Lesley College, Western Washington University, and Arena Theatre in Washington, DC.

Of This World, an original theatre piece by Richard Lewis, based on the life of Japanese haiku poet Issa, is produced and performed by the Little Theatre of the Deaf at American Museum of Natural History, Wave Hill Environmental Center and Symphony Space.

1982

Thematic Residency Program initiated at PS 71 and IS 227 in Queens with a new thematic exploration, Realms of the Sea.

Center begins The Touchstone Study, directed by Dr. Lillian Goldberg, researching and evaluating the Center's long term thematic project at PS 9 in Manhattan.

1983

In collaboration with the Queens College Center for the Improvement of Education, the Center presents a year-long program for teachers throughout District 24 in Queens based on developing thematic curriculums in individual classrooms.

Center presents a series of readings for children and their families at the Staten Island Children's Museum and the Hudson River Museum based on the theme of the sea and culminating in a performance of an original dance-theatre piece, In The Eye of the Whale, at the American Museum of Natural History.

1984

The Work of the Touchstone Center, a retrospective exhibition of materials and publications of the Center, presented at the Educational Library at Hunter College.

In conjunction with the Central Park Conservancy and Park Rangers, the Center initiates a series of workshops for children at the Central Park East School integrating the arts and sciences.

Production of Fire, Fire Burning Bright, a series of six radio programs on the nature of poetry, with students at IS 227.

1985

Center initiates new year-long thematic project, Realms of the Sky, at IS 227, PS 56 and PS 14 in Queens.

In association with the Abrons Arts Center of the Henry Street Settlement, the Center establishes its Literature Residency Program with PS 15 in Manhattan.

Speaking With Nature workshops for students in Public Schools in the Bronx begun, in association with the Bronx Division of the New York City Parks & Recreation Department, and culminating in a series of public events for families in Van Cortland Park, Pelham Bay Park and St. James Park.

1986

As part of the year-long development of the theme, Realms of the Earth at IS 227 and PS 165 in Queens, PS 110 and the Harlem School of the Arts, the Center presents The Earth Sleeps: A Winter Reverie at Crotona Park and Belevedere Castle in Center Park.

The Center gives a series of workshops, The Magic Word: Children and Their Poetic Vision for teachers at The Writers Voice.

1987

In association with the Prospect Park Environmental Center in Brooklyn, the Center initiates workshops for Fourth Grade students focused on writing in relation to the natural world.

The Butterfly in My Pocket: On Teaching the Imaginative Experience, a monograph by Richard Lewis, is published in association with the Queens College Center for the Improvement of Education.

1988

The Center receives the School and Culture Award at Gracie Mansion, presented by the Alliance for the Arts and the New York City Advisory Commission, for the Center's achievements in fostering the arts as a learning resource.

A selection of art and writing by students exhibited at the Al Oliver Museum at IS 227 based on the Center's year-long theme, Realms of Knowing.

1989

Touchstone Center Theatre Ensemble presents The World of Something, a theatre piece based on children’s ideas about the imagination performed at the Staten Island Children's Museum and the Children's Museum of Manhattan.

Imagination and the Use of Elemental Themes, a workshop and talk, is given at Artworks, an annual conference sponsored by the New York City Arts Teachers Association-UFT at the Martin Luther King Junior High School.

1990

The Journey Within, a documentary by Renascense Films on the thematic teaching of Richard Lewis at IS 227, premières in New York at the Department of Cultural Affairs of New York and the New York Historical Society.

The Flight of the Imagination, an all-day event of readings, performances and workshops for children and their families held, in association with the Central Park Conservancy, at the The Dairy and Belvedere Castle.

1991

Seeing: Literacy and the Images of Nature, a program of the Center's Literature Residency Program takes place at PS 97 in Manhattan as well as in schools in Jamestown, New York in association with Arts Council for Chautauqua County.

A talk and workshop, In The Meadow of our Thoughts: Improvising into the Life of the Imagination, given by the Richard Lewis at the annual conference of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education in Arlington, Virginia.

1992

The Center, in association with the Orion Society and the Myrin Institute, presents a weekend conference, Speaking With Nature at Caumsett, the Queens College Center for Environmental Education.

As part of its year-long thematic program Realms of Language in schools in District 4 in Manhattan and at IS 227 in Queens, the Center presents A Ceremony of Language, a performance and reading at the Wave Hill Environmental Center celebrating language and its relation to the natural world.

1993

The Center installs a series of murals conceived and painted by students from Kindergarten through Fifth Grade at PS 97 as part of the Center's Earthmakers Project.

The Workshop for Imaginative Understanding, a group of weekend workshops for teachers, artists and parents to reflect on the nature of the imagination, begins in New York City and subsequently takes place over two years in Oleans, New York; Honolulu, Hawaii; Greensboro, North Carolina, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1994

The Center establishes The Archival Project at the Mercantile Library in order to document and disseminate the work of the Center since its founding in 1969.

The Many Ways of Thought, The Many Ways of Feelings, a thematic exploration through art and writing at IS 227, culminates in dedication of tile mural by fifth and sixth grade students.

1995

As part of its Twenty-fifth Anniversary, the Center presents On The Evolution of the Imagination: Thoughts, Musings and Possibilities, a series of six lectures by noted scientists and writers at the American Museum of Natural History, as well The Making of Worlds: Views from Within, an exhibition of art and writing by students from PS 97 and artists working with the Center.

The Center's Director, for the twelfth year, conducts a special series of writing workshops with Fourth Grade children at the South School in Hingham, Massachusetts, exploring Chinese poetry and culture.

1996

The Center begins workshops for students at IS 227 in Queens – and the Children's Workshop School and PS 20 in Manhattan, as well with artists and teachers at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, Ireland as part of Center's two year thematic project, In The Spirit of Play.

Addressing the needs of high school teachers, the Center continues its monthly workshops, Reading Between the Lines: In Search of the Imaginative, for teachers at the Townsend Harris High School in Queens.

1997

The first issue of The Touchstone Center Journal is published with essays on the imagination by speakers presented by the Center at the American Museum of Natural History and the Abrons Arts Center of the Henry Street Settlement.

The Center presents a day-long workshop for teachers and parents, Making and Doing: The Universality of Creating Art, based on a talk by Ellen Dissanayake as part of the Center's yearly program, Learning and The Imagination.

1998

In collaboration with Parabola Books, the Center publishes Living By Wonder: The Imaginative Life of Childhood, a collection of essays by the Center's director written over the last two decades.

The Center exhibits, at the Abrons Arts Center of the Henry Street Settlement, a selection of children's art and writing created for the Center's In The Spirit of Play thematic project.

1999

The Center begins planning and implementing its Thirtieth Anniversary thematic project, Speakings: The Many Voices of Language at IS 227, Townsend Harris High School, PS 20, Poets House, Wave Hill, and Queens College

2000

Publication of Each Sky Has Its Words, written by Richard Lewis and illustrated by Gigi Alvare, the first of a series of books published by Touchstone Center Publications, highlighting the poems and stories the Center has used in its educational programs.

2001

The Dialogue of the Imagination, an interdisciplinary series of workshops and conversations for students and faculty, begins at the Townsend Harris High School in collaboration with The College Preparatory Programs of Queens College and Townsend Harris High School.

2002

Construction of The Bird of Imagining, an outdoor sculpture in Sauer Park by Kathy Creutzburg with feathers painted by 200 children from the Children's Workshop School, and publication of The Bird of the Imagining with illustrations by children from New York City public schools by Touchstone Center Publications. Exhibition of The Bird of Imagining at The Children's Museum of the Arts.

2003

Beginning of The Tree of Knowing arts and education project at the East Village Community School. Exhibition based on The Bird of Imagining at Poets House and Wichita Public Library. Publication of CAVE: An Evocation of the Beginnings of Art with accompanying exhibition and workshops at the Abrons Arts Center.

2004

Continuation of The Tree of Knowing project at East Village Community School. Bird of Imagining exhibit and workshops at Jamestown Communuity College – and exhibtion of Cave: An Evocation of the Beginnings of Art at Word and Image Gallery, Treadwell, New York.

2005

Arts and Education project, Air, Water, Light at the East Village Community School. The Necessity of Childhood lecture series at the Bank Street College of Education. Publication of A Tree Lives and performances of In the Space of the Sky by the Touchstone Center Theatre Ensemble at Wave Hill.

2006

Completion of Tree Of Knowing Garden at the East Village Community School. Exhibition at Abrons Arts Center of Trees of Knowing: Art and Writing by Children from the East Village Community  School. Performance by Touchstone Center Theatre Ensemble of The Sun Returns, A Day Begins: A Journey of Poems at Poets House. Publication of paperbound edition of Living By Wonder and video interpretation by Geoffrey Jones of  A Tree Lives by Touchstone Center Publications.

2007

At the East Village Community School, completion of Arts and Education residency, The Sound and Movement, Word and Image Project by The Touchstone Center Theatre Ensemble and establishment of teacher workshop series, Trees of Knowing, Birds of Imagining; performance at Wave Hill of Plant the Sun in Your Hand and accompanying parent and child workshop, What If:  The Dreaming of Childhood Into the Natural World; publication of I Catch My Moment: Art and Writing by Children on the Life of  Play along with related events at Poets House and Abrons Arts Center featuring Susan Share, Cecilia Vicuña and performance of Play, Said the Earth to Air.

2008
Completion of the outdoor playground mural by Noah Baen and Kathy Creutzburg based on the Play of Playing Arts and Education Project at the East Village Community School and the Children’s Workshop School. Collaboration with the Children’s Workshop School of the Peace Labyrinth created by Kathy Creutzburg. Second year of The Trees of Knowing, Birds of Imagining Workshop at the East Village Community Workshop for teachers and artists, featuring Vivian Gussin Paley  - and readings and performances at the Mulberry Street Library by the Touchstone Center Theatre Ensemble as part of the Poets House Family Workshops –and the Family Art Project at Wave Hill. Publication of Shaking the Grass for Dew by New Native Press of poems by Richard Lewis.

2009
Completion of the Rivers of our Thoughts arts and education project at the East Village Community School and the Children’s Workshop School with a mosaic over the school door, created by Noah Baen and Kathy Creutzburg, incorporating the children’s tiles and a group of four banners, made by Kathy Creutzburg inside the lobby of the school, based on children’s writings. Third year of The Trees of Knowing, Birds of Imagining Workshop at the East Village Community Workshop for teachers and artists  - and the creation by The Touchstone Center Theatre Ensemble of a new theatre piece, And So It Was Day, based on the Hawaiian creation myth – with a specially commissioned mask by Ralph Lee – and performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wave Hill and Poets House. Publication of Sea Tale by Richard Lewis, with illustrations by Gigi Alvaré.  40th Anniversary of The Touchstone Center.

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