200 years on the water
Officials at the USS Constitution Museum in Boston and the U.S. Navy have figured out a way to get the next generation involved in history: Send them on a cruise.
This summer 500 teachers and students from across the country will be guests aboard the historic USS Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned warship.
From June to August, the ship will go on 10 tug-powered cruises in Boston harbor, primarily for educators and students who were chosen by a lottery in April.
The cruises are part of a pilot program that will introduce a national curriculum package available to schools nationwide during the USS Constitution’s bicentennial next year.
During the hourlong tour, artisans will give ship-related demonstrations, and there will be storytelling and living-history programs. Teachers will receive a guidebook, and the museum plans to keep in touch with them throughout the year for feedback.
50 in print
Fifty years ago, the U.N. General Assembly came into being, as did the National Basketball Association, the bikini, and Highlights for Children.
Unlike the illustrious company it kept at birth, though, Highlights has changed little over the years, says its publisher, Kent Brown Jr., whose grandparents founded the magazine, which is aimed at children 2 to 12.
The design has been upgraded, and the issues are presented in the context of today’s society. “What’s remarkable is how we haven’t changed,” Mr. Brown says. “We’ve always kept the same purpose--developing thoughtful, literate citizens.”
To commemorate the milestone, Mr. Brown says he’s proud to announce that his company, the Honesdale, Pa.-based Boyds Mills Press, is going to do very little: The company plans just six pages of highlights of Highlights in this month’s issue.
“The magazine really belongs to the readers,” Mr. Brown says. “We don’t want to inflict on them the news that we’re 50. That’s meaningless to kids.”
--Adrienne D. Coles & Karen Diegmueller
