Author: Alana Gomez
On July 10th, members of the America 250 NC and Education and Outreach team led a program for summer camp students aged five through eleven at the Peach Road Cultural Center. This center is part of the City of Raleigh’s Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Cultural Outreach and Enrichment (COE) Program, which invites people of all ages to discover the ethnic and cultural richness of the community by focusing on programs that promote the well-being of all residents and reflect the vibrant cultures in the City of Raleigh.
America 250 NC Educator Alana Gomez, Outreach Coordinator Chelsea Kiefer, and Education and Outreach Assistant Hugo Govea taught the young attendees about North Carolina’s state parks, historic sites, and the 250th commemoration. After introducing the campers to North Carolina’s rich cultural heritage, the team connected their lesson to the camp’s week-long focus on South America.
In preparation, team members selected three naturalization records of migrants from Panama from the State Archives Digital Collections. These records helped the campers trace the journey of migrants from Panama to North Carolina on a map, creating a visualization of the distance traveled for students to reflect upon.
After the map activity, students filled out a worksheet that asked questions pertaining to various family history details such as where and when they were born, how long their family has lived in NC, and what people in their household did for a living. This activity not only taught the value of recording familial and local history, but also related back to the naturalization forms, which included similar information, helping campers to feel more connected to the narratives of those who have migrated to our state.
Campers were then encouraged to trace their family’s origins on the map and where they live now, to show how North Carolinians are often from many different places and cultures.
The activity not only tied into one of America 250 NC’s core themes, “NC For All, Forever,” but also introduced the young learners to concepts of immigration, historical records, and genealogy.