Turks and Caicos National Museum.
LEARNING BY HAVING FUN

GRAND TURK, TURKS AND CAICOS—(August 30, 2007)

Learning by having fun
This past August, Thursday afternoons were a hub of activity at the Turks and Caicos National Museum.  The Children’s Summer Program was in full action as some twenty children aged 8 – 12 spent the days learning, looking and creating. The motto for this summer’s program was “Let’s look at the things around us with a new eye and then make a picture of what we see.”  Visiting the lighthouse, bird watching, making a map of the TCI and studying the mangroves were just some of the activities. The highlight was an outing to Gibb’s Cay, sponsored by Oasis Divers.

The expressions on the children’s faces during the activities said it all. They had a lot of fun and, at the same time, they learned about the country’s history and ecology. The children visited the lighthouse with former lighthouse keeper Thomas Malcolm and then painted the lighthouse on pieces of bamboo found on the East Beach. Wildlife expert Scott Gordon took the children bird watching with self-made binoculars and fascinated them with his knowledge about the bird life in the islands. The children then had a chance to wow Scott with paper collages of the birds they had seen. An outing to the mangroves with Isabelle Brown, taught the children about the red, black and white mangroves and their importance to the fish and bird life and to the stability of our islands. They returned to the museum and built a model of the mangroves with cardboard and colored paper.

Highlight Gibb’s Cay
One of this year’s highlights was a trip to Gibb’s Cay organized in conjunction with Oasis Divers. For some children it was a test of courage to come close to the stingrays let alone to touch them. For others it was very exciting to don a mask and snorkel for the first time. The trip gave the children the opportunity to learn a lot about the creatures of the sea in the Turks and Caicos Islands and have a perfect day on the beach.
The main person behind the children’s summer program was Nikki Miller, an artist living in Grand Turk. Together with the museum staff, she came up with the ideas for the activities and supported by dedicated volunteers, she ensured that the children had fun filled afternoons that were also educational.

Art on display at the museum
The model of the mangroves will be on display in the Children’s Gallery at the museum until the end of September, along with other pieces of art made by the participants of the children’s program. Thanks to the generosity of many local businesses, the museum was able to offer the children’s summer program free of charge. The Turks and Caicos National Museum wishes to express its’ sincerest thanks to all of the sponsors for their support. Due to the success of the summer program the museum is considering to continue the children’s program on a regular basis every month. Discussions to pursue this objective are in progress. The Turks and Caicos National Museum is planning to inform the public about this new program shortly.

Sincerest thanks to our generous sponsors and volunteers:

• A1 Business Center
• Dots Food Fair
• Durham’s Home Center
• Goodmark Jewelers
• Raymond the Ice Cream Man
• Island Pure Water
• Mr Cee’s
• Little Switzerland
• OASIS Divers
• Radio Turks and Caicos
• R&R
• Ruth Ann’s
• Salt Raker Inn
• Nikki Miller, Joan Garneau, Jackie Girotti, Aliatte Michel, Isabelle Brown, Scott Gordon, Thomas Malcolm, Ibrahim Hoza, Lina Saintilien


P.O.Box188
Grand Turk
Turks & Caicos Islands
(649) 946-2160