The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center provides a variety of educational opportunities for students of all ages. Programs can be tailored to the particular interests and ages of students. For more information, email Programs@FishingHeritageCenter.org.
Recent programs have included:
A 12-week residency at Alma del Mar Charter Public School designed to complement their unit on simple machines. Students learned about community documentation and put these skills into practice interviewing members of the fishing community through classroom visits and fieldwork at a variety of shoreside businesses. This program was funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Insider tours of the seafood industry presented to international fisheries graduate students from the University of Rhode Island and agri-science students from Cumberland Valley High School in Pennsylvania. In addition to taking a guided walking tour of the waterfront, students toured the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction, Bergie’s Seafood, and took a dockside tour of a working scallop vessel at Eastern Fisheries.
A program for kindergarten students at New Bedford’s Gomes Elementary School was designed to complement their in-class reading of Chris Demarest’s book Mayday! Mayday! about a Coast Guard rescue. Students enjoyed an interactive performance of maritime music and storytelling by Essex-based performers Daisy Nell and Stan Collinson as well as an assembly program on Safety At Sea presented by fisherman and safety instructors Rodney Avila and Ted Williams of Hercules LLC. This program was funded through a grant from the New Bedford Education Association.
Additionally, the Center has been working with local teachers to develop a variety of curriculum materials that fulfill grade-appropriate standards. The activities are designed to use the fishing industry as a topic for exploration while strengthening skills in math, ELA, history, science and the arts.
