First lady says children need exposure to arts

"What would we do without our laptops?" asked Mrs. Obama, addressing one of the winners, Bill Moggridge, who designed the world's first laptop. "My kids would die," she said to laughter. "They'd be — they wouldn't make it through the summer. I don't know whether to thank you, Bill, for that."

Hosting the design awards, which are presented by the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, has been a recent tradition for first ladies, starting with Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2000.

But Mrs. Obama, who has put a priority since the beginning of her tenure on spending time in the local community, added a twist: Earlier Friday, she sent both award winners and White House staff members to five Washington museums for free public seminars.

At one of them, an eclectic combination of Calvin Klein designer Francisco Costa, interior designers Calvin Tsao and Zack McKown and White House deputy social secretary Ebs Burnough riffed on such subjects as the meaning of design.

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