New Girl Scouts of Maryland program, Immigration: Past and Present

Our Education summer intern, Falicia Eddy transformed the Immigrant Trunk outreach program into a new program for the Girl Scouts of Maryland called Immigration: Past and Present.  One part of the program is the Immigrant Trunk which tells the story of Ida Rehr, an immigrant from Ukraine who came to Baltimore for a better life in the late 19th century.  She worked in a factory and took night classes in order to learn English.  In the trunk, the Girl Scouts will be able to look at photographs of Ida and her family and use critical thinking skills to answer questions.  They will also be able to interact with objects such as a cast iron pan, a menorah, and an iron.

A photograph of Ida Rehr and her family
A photograph of Ida Rehr and her family

To update the Immigrant Trunk, Falicia researched contemporary immigration.  The Girl Scouts will answer questions and participate in a Q&A from a refugee from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) of Baltimore.  This discussion will enable the Girl Scouts to learn about the true struggles of an immigrant today.  The Girl Scouts will also visit our historic synagogues and participate in a scavenger hunt in our Voices of Lombard Street exhibit.

Here I am at the Girl Scouts of Maryland headquarters  waiting to talk with troop leaders.
Here I am at the Girl Scouts of Maryland headquarters waiting to talk with troop leaders.

Falicia has since returned to school (We miss you Falicia!) and as an educator at the JMM, I took on her project. On Saturday, August 29th I traveled to the Girl Scouts of Maryland headquarters.  In a quick thirty minutes, I met with troop leaders who were very interested and excited to learn about Immigration: Past and Present.  There were some leaders who had never heard of our museum, but were excited about the opportunity to their troops here.  The Jewish Museum of Maryland is participating with the Girl Scouts for the first time this year.  We are thrilled to educate, inspire, and encourage the Girl Scouts to take on this relevant topic of immigration and hopefully this program with encourage them to research their own immigration story or help their community.

Kelly SuredamA blog post by Museum Educator Kelly Suredam Potter. To read more posts about our education programs click HERE.

 

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Education jewish museum of maryland

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