Workshops -- African American Museum of Iowa

On November 4, 2008 our national history changed forever and President-elect Obama credits Iowa with giving his campaign its jump-start. How can you incorporate this into your classroom? The African American Museum of Iowa has added three new presidential workshops to their repertoire to help you.

· Our 44th President, Barack Obama * Get all the information on Mr. Obama, from what he studied in school, to his family story, to how he changed our nation's history. Students will be able to create a presidential rookie card with all of Obama's important stats.

· African American Firsts in Iowa * Barack Obama was the first African American to win the Iowa caucuses and to win a presidential nomination for a major political party in the U.S., not to mention the first African American to be elected President. Iowa boasts oodles of African American firsts, and students will create a readers' theatre production about them. If your students think they can't make a difference in their lifetimes, after learning about our Iowan innovators they'll learn to say, "Yes we can!"

· Obama Vs. Kennedy * There are many parallels between the events of 2008 and the events of 1968. There was an unpopular war overseas and social division at home, a President with a very low approval rating, a controversial election, and controversy surrounding the Olympics (just to name a few). Find out how history has repeated itself 40 years later, but also how different things are today. This workshop can be done as a math activity with Venn diagrams, or as a creative writing activity, and is best suited for middle- and high-school students.

For more details, pricing information or to schedule your own workshop (in your school or at the Cedar Rapids-based Museum), contact Education Director, Erin Thomas, at 319-551-9037. Any program can be tailored to serve you and your students. Be sure to check out the African American Museum of Iowa website: www.blackiowa.org.