CMSECT's Executive Director Presents Program in Belize

Children’s Museum of Southeastern Connecticut Executive Director Christy Hammond recently returned from Belize where she presented the museum’s popular water pollution program, “Fred the Fish.” Hammond presented the program to 80 school children, ages 5-12, in Santa Ana, a small Mayan town in the southern Toledo District. “They teach using what we would consider very old-fashioned teaching techniques,” Hammond said. “Having children actively involved, getting out of their seats and doing experiments, was new to them. I ended up leaving some material with one teacher who was interested in this hands-on approach to education. Later I saw another teacher who was incorporating some of our techniques in her classroom. We’ve also made arrangements to connect pen pals between a third-grade class in Niantic with their counterpart in Santa Ana.” Prior to Hammond’s trip, the Children’s Museum’s collected $250 worth of school materials for the Belizean school, which has an annual budget of $150US. The Children’s Museum of Southeastern Connecticut is located at 409 Main Street. It is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9:30 am until 5 pm; and Sundays, noon until 5 pm. For information, call (860) 691-1111 or visit www.childrensmuseumsect.org.