Kids mural to key quadricentennial

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November 20, 2008

'Whenever the kids do hands-on projects, they learn more'

By STEPHEN BARTLETT The Press Republican Thu Nov 20, 2008, 10:17 AM EST

PLATTSBURGH — As Clinton County celebrates the Champlain-Hudson quadricentennial next summer, residents will see history through its children's eyes.

More than 1,000 seventh-graders from local school districts are creating a ceramic mural that will span the American Indian inhabitation of the area to 1878, when the last municipality was chartered.

The mural will cover 35 feet by 10 feet of the south wall of the Government Center, outside the building near the parking lot.

"This will help students get excited about history," said Clinton County Historian Dr. Anastasia Pratt, who is visiting schools in Clinton County for the project.

"This isn't just reading from a book or taking a test," said Bucky Seiden, a local artist involved in the project. "They will create something that will be a legacy for future generations."

Pratt stood in Andrew Bilow's seventh-grade classroom at Seton Catholic Central recently, asking students if they knew about the Revolutionary War.

"Yes," they responded in unison.

"Why were we fighting in it?"

"To get freedom."

"Freedom from who?"

"The British."

Pratt and the students discussed the leaders of the time and the Battle of Valcour, while a few of the boys in the class wondered how many people wore coonskin caps.

The project, called Clinton County History Through the Eyes of its Children, culminates with the ceramic wall that will be created by students with the guidance of Seiden and fellow artists.

The mural's time line will coincide with some of the major events in Clinton County's history and reflect larger themes of life in the area. Besides touching on native inhabitants of the area, the mural will include Samuel de Champlain's arrival, the Revolutionary War, settlement, iron and industry, the War of 1812, transportation, prisons, the abolition movement and Underground Railroad.

"We are learning about the history of our colony and how it was a big part of history," said Seton seventh-grader Adam Tedford.

Maddy Murnane, one of his classmates, thinks the project is cool.

"It will be there a long time, and we will be able to show our family."

Their excitement thrilled Bilow, who stresses the important part the region played in history.

"They are learning in-depth, hands-on history. Whenever the kids do hands-on projects, they learn more.

"They will never forget what they learned, and it will be hanging on a wall so they can show their own kids one day."

Each school district will research a specific period and create a portion of the mural, with students doing all the work after some instruction over the winter by Seiden and fellow artist Sue Young.

The program, estimated to cost $20,000, will include samples of transportation in the water and on land; agriculture, such as apple trees; the development of communities; and more.

Partners on the project include the Clinton County Legislature, North Country Teacher Resource Center, New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization grant, the Battle of Plattsburgh Association, North Country Underground Railroad and Lowe's.

The program aims to raise the money through grants and matching funds.

"Funding is really an issue for us, so we are looking for donations," Seiden said.

Donations go to Northern New York American/Canadian Geological Society, the program's non-profit supporter.

The mural should start going up toward the end of May 2009, with a completion goal of that summer.

"This is an authentic task for students," Seiden said. "Any visitor can go to the wall and see the history of our county."

"Maybe it spurs students to have some kind of interest in history for the rest of their lives," Pratt said. "We want to bring as many children into history as we can."

E-mail Stephen Bartlett at: sbartlett@pressrepublican.com