Field Trip to the Zekelman Holocaust Center
Cheryl Darnton
Admission to the Zekelman Holocaust Center for (https://holocaustcenter.org/) 7th and 8th grade students enrolled in the Mill Creek Holocaust History elective course. Trip includes a docent-led tour and a keynote presentation by a next generation survivor (son or daughter of a Holocaust survivor).
The grant is for an educational experience for students. The field trip to the Zekelman Holocaust Center takes place in the last weeks of the 9-week elective class titled Holocaust History. By the time we visit the museum, students know a lot about WW2 and the Holocaust. They have a lot of background knowledge upon which to layer the new information they learn at the museum from the docents, from the artifacts, and from reading the placards throughout the museum. The experience expands their understanding of the topic significantly. At the end of the field trip, students get to listen to the story of a next generation survivor as they describe the experiences of their parent's survival through the Holocaust and the ways in which their parent was affected by it. Since several parent chaperones typically accompany us to the museum, the field trip experience leads to family conversations at home, too, which enriches the student experience even more.