Ditmas Park parents create pop-up museum at PS 217 for Black History Month

Suginia and Kevin Jones wanted to do something different this Black History Month.

News 12 Staff

Feb 15, 2020, 12:56 AM

Updated 1,537 days ago

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Parents in Ditmas Park created a pop-up museum to mark Black History Month and help educate children about black culture.
The museum is located at P.S. 217's library. Suginia and Kevin Jones wanted to do something different this Black History Month.

"I know the importance of having black culture celebrated,” says Suginia Jones. “It's part of our history, which is also part of our nation’s history so we thought it would be important to highlight and showcase it - not only for our daughters but for everyone else at 217."  

They say they’ve incorporated like smart boards and TV into the museum.
"My parents always go overboard,” says Ellah, their 9-year-old daughter.

They also recruited other parents to join in. Seth Fleischman set up an immersive virtual reality experience.

"I think what is sometimes lost in celebrating Black History Month is that it is part of American history, and it is something that is important and should be important to every American,” says Fleischman.

Suginia and Kevin Jones hope the museum gets the children excited to learn about such important people in history. They tell News 12 they're already thinking about how they can expand on the concept and possibly create a pop-up for women's history month in March.
Ellah tells News 12 that her favorite section is about Rosa Parks.


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