Letter+to+Mr.Belanger

University School of Milwaukee February 2, 2009  Gregory Belanger 746 Chapel St. Suite 300 New Haven, CT USA 06510  Dear Mr. Belanger,     We have been recently working on a project about slavery.  As University School students we had the opportunity to create our own wikispace into an Interactive Museum. Along with our exhibit we have also created a paper of which we have described what our museum would look like, if put into a real exhibit. We as students would like to share our ideas with you.  <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Pretend you are a young boy who has just learned about slavery in the United States, the more you hear about the stories the more you are intrigued to visit the museum “From Africa to America.” As Entering the exhibit you find your self in a remote village where African American Children run free, women are outside their huts preparing for tonight’s dinner. The men have just come back from the hunt. There would be two to four mannequins in the place of the people. One would be a child showing the games the children use to play. A man would be shown as the chief, with gifts and a lavish hut, before him. A woman would have traditional foods and tools. The tools would be artifacts, and the clothing would be actual clothing from the time. As moving through the village the sky starts to get darker, and mannequins start to become more frequent also the mannequins with white colored skin would be in the picture with new objects in hand the Africans have never seen. You then come ahead to a round room, where the morning sun brightens the room. You would see the African Americans chained up with chains around their necks, feet and hands. Going in a straight line the African Americans now known as slaves would be in a straight line, leading to a exit of a straight hall way. There you would find pictures, painting, murals, and video clips of the slaves posted on the wall, as they journeyed to one of the three ports. One major port was Cape coast, where the main boat would be to take you to the new world. When walking through the narrow hallway, you would come upon a bigger room, where a prison would a wait and a boat. You could enter either one and it would lead you to the bigger boat. The boat would contain the Artifacts, facts, and mannequins demonstrating the life style for those three terrible months. On the walls of the boat would be stories of slaves and their journeys across big blue. Exiting out of the ships bow, you come to another village, but this time it is Charleston, South Carolina. There would also be little nooks of where the ports New York, New Orleans would have information. The last door in the exhibit would be the slave auction. Where you would get the feel of what the slaves had gone through. You could stand on the podium where the slaves stood, or you could be on a bench where the buyers were. <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">There would be sound files which would be motion activated. Then rounding to the end would be in the room about the great escape, ending the exhibit about slavery. <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">If you have any ideas or extra information that could enhance our exhibit we would love the advice. Thank you for your time and consideration. <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Sincerely, <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">  <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">  <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Emily W, Sophie V, Annelise G, Hud son B