Staying Connected with JMM: History is Now

JMM Collects Stories of the Pandemic

Dear Educators,

Take a breath and reflect for a moment. You are an educator teaching and supporting students during a pandemic. History is happening now. You are a part of it and your story is a meaningful one. Have you had a similar conversation with your students recently?

At JMM, we believe in the importance of gathering and preserving personal stories. As a museum, we collect materials related to events, past and present, that impact our communities. This pandemic, which has affected nearly every aspect of daily life, including education, definitely qualifies as one of those events.

We hope that collecting these stories will not only to help the historians of the future understand this moment in time, but also to help people today realize the many different ways the pandemic is affecting our family, classmates, coworkers, neighbors, and ourselves.

We hope you will submit your experiences and stories – through words, images, or objects – to help us preserve our community’s memories and experiences for future generations.


 

History if Now: JMM Collections Stories of the Pandemic

JMM tells the stories of everyday people – that includes you and your students! There’s no pressure to come up with a unique, Pulitzer Prize-worthy tale, we would just love to hear your memories and experiences. From the students you are missing, to what your workspace at home looks like, to what has surprised you the most about living through our current events, your stories are worth telling and sharing.

We’ve come up with a few ideas to get you started that may help your students reflect and foster conversations with them:

What are some differences between learning in a classroom versus learning at home?

How has your school day routine changed?

What do you miss the most about your school?

What do you like the most about learning at home?

What was the most fun you have had since you’ve been home?

You and your students might be inspired to write a poem, journal entry, letter, an essay, or just some scribbled thoughts. Maybe make a recording (on your phone, with a fancy camera, or maybe through your laptop or tablet) or share photos and drawings to illustrate your experiences.

What else can you think of? We can’t wait to see, hear, and share your stories.

Use this form to easily share your stories with us!

You can also mail your stories, photos, offers of objects to us (we love getting mail!). Please do not send actual objects in the mail. Address your mail to:

Joanna Church, Director of Collections & Exhibits
The Jewish Museum of Maryland
15 Lloyd Street
Baltimore, MD 21202.

Or email Joanna at at jchurch@jewishmuseummd.org!

*Make sure to include your name, hometown or location, and age in your email or letter to us, and let us know how you would like us to attribute and share your work – use the questions on the form as guidance.


Storysharing in Practice

An Afternoon of Storyfinding and Storysharing
Sunday, May 31st at 3:30pmWe’re also hosting some events to help you share your stories! Our first confirmed live program is for the youngest in our community — more information and how to register here.

Hannah Salyer Presents PACKS: Strength in Numbers

Virtual Author Visit
Hannah Salyer Presents:
PACKS: Strength in Numbers
Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 3:30pm

We’re thrilled to host author and illustrator Hannah Salyer for this special live stream reading of her book PACKS, an inspiring celebration of how togetherness helps many creatures thrive, including people! Hannah will also lead a drawing demonstration and share about learning from the togetherness we see in the animal kingdom.

Recommended for ages 5 – 9, or any young artist with a love of animals.

Register for this Live Stream Event here!


We want to support the important work that you do in our community. Invite a JMM Educator into your virtual classroom to facilitate a presentation with your students on topics like:

Jewish Immigration to Baltimore through our Voices of Lombard Street exhibit

Environmentalism through our Scrap Yard: Innovators of Recycling exhibit

Holocaust Education in our Holocaust Memory Project

Introduction to Judaism with information about our Lloyd Street Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Maryland.

To book a virtual visit, complete our Virtual Visit Request Form. 


NASA’s Space Tourism Posters. Credit: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/682/space-tourism-posters/

Vacation Destination: Pluto
Pluto was once the ninth planet from the sun. It was also the smallest planet in our Solar System. But Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet. Blast off into the future where dwarf planet Pluto is a popular vacation destination!

Looking for other hands-on activities related to space? Check out our Wondernauts website.


For more posts from Paige Woodhouse, click here.

For more education newsletters, click here.


Categories
Education jewish museum of maryland

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.