Upcoming Events | The Breman Museum in Atlanta

Mr. Damon will guide participants as they create their own shadow puppets, focusing on the grassland ecosystem and brainstorming about other Biome elements such as plants and water sources. Participants will make mouse and lion shadow puppets, cutting out a template, provided as a PDF, with a supply list sent to those who register. Participants will make puppets come alive and move the attached sticks with hand motions, while learning concepts including biodiversity, interdependence, food webs and pollution.

Ann Woolner, journalist and author, traces Georgia’s first Jews from the torture chambers of the Portuguese Inquisition through escape to London and then onto a forbidden voyage to Savannah. Unexpected and unwanted, 41 Jews landed in the infant colony 1733 in the midst of a deadly epidemic there — seemingly quelled by one of their own, a Portuguese-born doctor. His curative treatments brought respect and equal treatment for Jewish settlers. When the Revolution came, these families fought as patriots, ran supplies and helped finance the war.

This workshop brings awareness to sea turtles, one of our endangered species. Sea turtles are the ultimate ecological lesson, showing that everything is connected. In this workshop, children, parents and siblings can enjoy honoring the sea turtle by creating a sea turtle sculpture using air dry clay, to create texture and design that can be incorporated into a 3D sea turtle seascape. The clay can be made at home with a simple recipe using flour, salt and water and the recipe will be part of the supply list included with registration for the workshop

Workshop supplies can be recycled materials and found objects, large fabric scraps, ribbon, string, and newspaper to create a Mother Earthfigurine. No sewing is required. Start with rolled up newspaper to be the support for the figure. Then add layers of materials, attaching them with string or yarn. Arms are made using more fabric and string. How Mother Earth’s clothing evolves depends on what fabrics and materials are selected. Add a scarf, a hat and a piece of found jewelry as a final embellishment. The completed Mother Earth can be a 3-D folk art work of art to enjoy at home, as a reminder to appreciate and care for our world.

Rabbi Bailey Romano, Director of Education at Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria, VA, researched the work of three rabbis in Galveston, Memphis, and New Orleans during the 19th and and early 20th centuries, in her thesis, “Who by Fire and Who by Water: Rabbinical Responses to Select Epidemics and Natural Disasters in American Jewish History.”

Marcia Jo Zerivitz, cultural anthropologist, author, and public historian, is the founding Executive Director of the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. Using PowerPoint images, she will speak about the history of Florida Jews, highlighting some stories of contemporary personalities who contribute much to the quality of life of Floridians and beyond—names that are recognized globally—and of those who impacted history beginning 257 years ago and possibly in the 16th century in Florida. Stephen J. Whitfield will then moderate a discussion.