It is one thing for families to acknowledge Black History Month, which in February marks its 36th year. It is quite another to get kids engaged so they learn something. A family outing to a museum (and if there's an African-American history museum nearby, all the better) is a good start. Many museums offer special programs.
But you can bring the museum's ideas to the comfort of your home.
A few museum representatives shared creative ways families can celebrate Black History Month. Here are a few to try, listed in order of the age (youngest to oldest) for which they're appropriate.
Story time: Read tales about Anansi (also spelled Ananse) the trickster spider, a character at the center of many West African fables. Anansi stories, originally passed down through oral tradition within the Ashanti tribe of Ghana, were brought by African slaves to the Caribbean and parts of the U.S. Find books at your library.
The Children's Museum of Houston (cmhouston.org) recommends "Anansi the Spider: A Tale From the Ashanti" (Henry Holt and Company) by Gerald McDermott, and "The Pot of Wisdom: Ananse Stories" (Groundwood Books) by Adwoa Badoe.
Symbol art: Stamp Adinkra symbols onto cloth, construction paper or T-shirts to teach about West African tribal traditions, suggests Delia Meza, lead early childhood educator at the Brooklyn Children's Museum (brooklynkids.org). Originated by tribes from Ghana and Ivory Coast, Adinkra symbols express tribal proverbs, beliefs and philosophies, such as unity and forgiveness. You can make a set of Adinkra stamps by cutting the symbol shapes out of foam. We found a tutorial at the PBS "Wonders of the African World" website: pbs.org/wonders (click on the "Kids" link at the bottom of the page).
Matching game: Make a set of index cards with names of African-American heroes, and another set with what earned them their fame, says Cheryl McCallum, director of education at the Children's Museum of Houston. Mix them up, then match the person to the accomplishment.
Photo collage: Create a collage of photographs and quotations from an important period in history. At the Brooklyn Children's Museum, kids assemble a patchwork of photos of Martin Luther King Jr. (find images online) and words that embody his message, such as "tolerance," "diversity" and "friendship," to paste onto construction paper.
Past and present: Challenge your family to identify parallels between African-American achievers of the past and present to show how historical contributions brought about lasting, positive change, suggests Ted Canaday, director of marketing and communications at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (thewright.org) in Detroit. For example, before there was baseball star Reggie Jackson, there was Jackie Robinson. Before there was poet Sonia Sanchez, there was Langston Hughes. Read about their lives and work.
Film buffs: Screen a movie dealing with civil rights to discuss, says Michelle McKinney, librarian and assistant archivist at the Charles H. Wright Museum. Staff favorites include "Soundtrack for a Revolution," "Our Friend, Martin" and "Up From the Bottoms: The Search for the American Dream."