A REALLY BIG NIGHT

Thursday, January 28, East Boston Cultural Exchange Center....
Eastie community residents, students, teachers, and Boston Museum supporters pack the exhibit room where the East Boston Historical Society's first student-led exhibit was opened to the public! Guests included Boston City Councilor Sal LaMattina, Boston School Supt. Carol Johnson, and many more. Students exhibited their 3D maps, designs for an immigration memorial, architectural studies, clipper ship models and
an iPhone app based on the Battle of Chelsea Creek. The community controbuted many artifacts on life in East Boston. Thanks to Fran Rowan, program director at the 80 Border Street Cultural Exchange Center for her faith in this endeavor, and to all our program partners and helpers including the Piers Park Sailing Center, Norman B. Levanthal Map Center at the BPL, Learning by Design, City archaeologist Ellen Berkland, iPhone app project manager Joason Petralia, and many more. Kudos to teacher Julia Brasser who led our teaching team! We hope to be back in the spring with another event or exhibit created in cooperation with community volunteers who want to keep the new East Boston Historical Society alive. FINALLY, A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR AWESOME STUDENTS!

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON...

We are just four days away from the launch of East Boston's first-ever historical society. Today we proceeded with Part One of the exhibit installation at the Cultural Exchange Center at 80 Border Street in Eastie. Tomorrow the student board of directors arrives to finish the job. What a lot of work...but what a perfect setting for a celebration of this community's rich history, in a former shipbuilding facility overlooking the piers where clipper ships were once built. Today we got help with the installation from Polly Carpenter of the Learning By Design team (right.) Back at the Umana students like Brionna and Briana (same class, no relation) are putting the final touches on 3D maps and "identity boxes" that reflect their own cultural history.

See you on January 28th at 4 PM...

A BEAUTIFUL LOGO!

8th grader Udoka Ibeh has created a gorgeous logo for the East Boston Historical Society, featuring an outline of one of East Boston's five islands - Noddle Island. His design was chosen by the board of directors at the East Boston Cultural Exchange Center where the exhibit will be held next week. His class won a free field trip to "Tomb," an "interactive adventure experience"near Fenway Park with an Egyptian tomb theme (it's sort of like stepping into a Raiders of the Lost Ark movie!) Our thanks to 5 WITS, creators of Tomb, for donating the trip.