Students appreciated at national museum

The Cayman Islands National Museum isn’t just for tourists on weekdays and residents on Saturdays. And its function isn’t just to collect and preserve items of historical interest. 

With a legal mandate to educate the public, museum staff have gone beyond the call of duty. Not only do they have a policy for visits by school groups, they have gone proactive by letting students know they are appreciated.  

On Monday, 30 January, 19 students from Montessori By The Sea made history by being the first school group to receive certificates of appreciation commemorating their visit to the National Museum. 

Teachers Marcia Goldberg and Adrienne Richter decided to pre-book a school visit to the National Museum with Education Coordinator Nasaria Suckoo Chollette as a part of having their students learn about local history. 

Upstairs and downstairs, the building on Harbour Drive in George Town came to life as the children ventured from gallery to gallery, asking intelligent questions and exploring interactive exhibits, Ms Chollette said. When the tour was over, each student received a certificate complete with his or her name and school, date of visit and the education coordinator’s verifying signature. 

Going forward all schools that pre-book tours with the national museum will receive commemorative certificates of appreciation for each student. 

“We want to give the school children something they can be proud of and look back on when they get older and say, ‘Remember when our school visited the museum?’”, Ms Chollette said. 

“The Museum is open and available to all,” she said. “We cater to the visual, auditory, and the kinesthetic learner.” 

Tours are generally for a maximum of 15 to 20 students. One reason is the size of the Theatre Room, where a dramatic introductory video provides visitors with a brief history of the three Islands. It holds 15 to 20 people comfortably.  

“When we have groups that are larger than that, we simply split them and stagger the tour appointments. Sometimes we can have one group touring the upstairs galleries, while another is downstairs,” Ms Chollette said. 

Preschoolers are split into smaller groups and museum staff recommend parents accompany the youngsters to assist with supervision. 

It is best that primary classes have a teacher/supervisor for every 5 to 7 students, but for high school one teacher for every 10 students would be sufficient, she said. 

Schools interested in pre-booking a tour should contact Education Coordinator Nasaria Suckoo Chollette at [email protected] or 949-8368 ext. 2025. The museum is open Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturdays 10am to 2pm. Admission is free the first Saturday of each month for all residents.