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Planners of the recent International Lighthouse Conference, “Kids on the Beam, Education for Preservation ” held this past September in New Bedford, MA declared the conference a gigantic success. “It went way beyond anyone’s expectations,” said Sally Snowman, chair of the planning committee that worked 18 months in planning the historic conference, continuing, “It took planning and lots of it, but the results will change history.”
Although the conference had its fun moments and a break in learning process with a cruise to Boston Light and a trolley tour of historic New Bedford for the attendees, this was indeed a working conference that was meant to bring new teaching and learning ideas from a wide range of people to the lighthouse community from around North America.
Showing their support for the educational goals set by the American Lighthouse Foundation for the conference, Mayor Frederick Kalisz of the City of New Bedford and Rear Admiral Vivien Crea, Commander of the First Coast Guard District in Boston were on hand to give remarks at the opening nights dinner ceremony.
The days were long, with many attendees meeting early in the morning to talk shop before the seminars, which began promptly at 9 AM. Most nights would still find attendees who were still talking lighthouses as late as midnight.
Lighthouse people and educators from nearly every part of the United States and Canada came to show how they are using the lighthouse to teach students chemistry, astronomy, ecology, history, preservation, architecture, marine biology, reading, writing, acting, and tourism. Attendees of the conference were then able to come up with numerous new ideas that could then be used at their lighthouse or school in using the lighthouse in many areas of teaching.
On hand for the conference were The Lighthouse Kids from New Hampshire who told of their efforts to try to raise money to save the Isles of Shoals Lighthouse. They explained how the group got started, how difficult it is to raise money and how much they have learned since starting the project. They were totally surprised when Rear Admiral Crea presented them with a Coast Guard award for their efforts.
The International Lighthouse Conference was cosponsored by the American Lighthouse Foundation and the City of New Bedford, MA. The City of New Bedford went all out for the conference, decorating its downtown area with Lighthouse Banners from every lamppost and officially named the park where the Lightship Sailors Memorial is located as Coast Guard Park during the opening of the conference.
Twenty-two schools of the New Bedford school system took part in the conference with a lighthouse poster contest and essay-writing contest for the students and a teacher’s lighthouse workshop on the day before the conference officially opened.
The conference closed with a spectacular concert by the United States Guard Band to an audience of close to 900 people.
This story appeared in the November 2002 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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