Museum’s program was developed to inspire and teach students about their community
The Catalina Island Museum is one semester into its new partnership with Avalon School. Along with the help of Lisa Marsh, museum educator and curriculum developer, the museum introduced the Catalina Ambassador Program at the beginning of the school year.
The Catalina Ambassador Program was specifically developed to inspire and teach students about their community and its attributes through classroom exercises, art projects, field trips and hands-on experiences. The first students to participate were the kindergarten and fifth-grade classes. For six weeks Marsh spent time in the respective classrooms leading them through particular lessons and teaching them about what it means to be an ambassador.
Avalon’s kindergarten classes learned about the museum, its role in the community, its building, exhibitions and museum etiquette. The fifth-grade students learned about the museum, its mission and specifically how it collects and preserves artifacts. The Catalina Island Yacht Club was also a special focus. They learned about its mission, history and building along with some boating vocabulary.
Having completed the six-week program, each student received a Catalina Ambassador pin. The kindergartners enjoyed trip to the museum where they received their pins. The fifth-graders visited the Catalina Island Yacht Club for a tour and lunch before receiving their pins. Students will earn new pins as each level is completed. All students will also receive a portfolio of the work they created during that particular semester.
“The Catalina Ambassador Program is an excellent way for students to learn more about their community, including the importance of boating activities for their city on a bay,” said Carlos Chacon, commodore of the Catalina Island Yacht Club. “The Yacht Club is pleased to have recently participated in the program by hosting the entire fifth-grade class of Avalon School in December. Their visit included a morning tour of our facility led by Staff Commodore Dave Horst, followed by a hot dog lunch provided by the CIYC Foundation. The fifth-graders were enthusiastic in learning about the history, design and purpose of our 95-year-old facility. Our club’s mission statement includes always being a friend and advocate of Avalon and we look forward to other community-focused events that enhance our relationship with citizens of Avalon, with special interest in the children. I want to thank Julie Perlin Lee, executive director of the Catalina Island Museum, for including our club in the program. Additional thanks to her staff and the Avalon School teachers that supervised the event.”
The museum’s Catalina Ambassador Program continues this semester working with the 1st and 4th graders. The 1st graders will be learning about their public parks and the landmarks in and around them. The 4th graders will be learning about sound and acoustics, especially in the Avalon Theatre. Additional lessons are being prepared for junior high students. Eventually, the program will cover all grades of Avalon School.
“It has been a joy watching the kindergarten and fifth grade students become confident artists over the six-week Catalina Ambassador Program,” said Marsh. “This program deepens the students understanding of their community through hands on art making, and discussion. During each lesson the students are encouraged to engage in their community with new artistic concepts and are able to see their home in new ways while broadening their skills. The highlight of both sessions were the field trips to the places we had been learning about. Watching the growth of the students has me excited to get to know the first and fourth graders and show what the Island and places like the Casino have to offer.”
Marsh has been developing curriculum programs for 20 years. Prior to working with the museum, she served as the Director of Education and Visitor Services at the Long Beach Museum of Art. During her six years at LBMA, she created and implemented K-12 curriculum that met California state content standards and visual and performing arts content standards. She built relationships with teachers in the Long Beach Unified School District and developed a program that motivated them to incorporate arts into their curriculum.
The Catalina Island Museum offers the best in art and history exhibitions, music and dance performances, lectures by guest speakers from all over the world, and the finest in silent, documentary and international film. Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except New Year’s Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The museum’s Ada Blanche Wrigley Schreiner Building is located in the heart of Avalon at 217 Metropole Avenue. For more information, call 310-510-2414 or visit CatalinaMuseum.org.
