Nov. 12, 2007

Contact:
Dale B. Stark
Public Relations Manager
Civic Center of Greater Des Moines
(515) 246-2363 : desk
(515) 770-3253 : cell
dstark@civiccenter.org

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CIVIC CENTER RECIEVES $5,300 IOWA ARTS COUNCIL GRANT
Award funds Underground Railroad partnership with Callanan Middle School

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Civic Center of Greater Des Moines has received a $5,300 Arts-In-Education Grant from the Iowa Arts Council to support a ground-breaking educational partnership with Callanan Middle School in Des Moines, IA. The grant will help 200 eighth grade students participate in an Underground Railroad educational program.

“What is unique about this program is how it integrates what the students will be doing in the classroom with other out-of-school opportunities” explained Todd Fogdall, Director of Development & Education for the Civic Center.  In class, students will research the history of the Underground Railroad in Computer Science, examine the plays and stories of the era in Speech and Drama, try period recipes in Consumer Science and explore the role of trust through ropes courses in Physical Education.  Those experiences will be augmented by a visit to the Jordan House in West Des Moines, a former home on the Underground Railroad, and by an in-school performance by the Langston Hughes Players. 

One slave’s story of the Underground Railroad will come to life when the students visit the Civic Center to see the Applause! Series presentation of “Freedom Bound,” the story of a slave whose voyage takes him to Mechanicsburg, Ohio.

Finally, the students will have the opportunity to reflect on their learning via a concluding mural project to which all students will contribute.

This project is supported, in part by the Iowa Arts Council and the National Endowment for Arts, with additional support from American Republic Insurance Company.

The Civic Center of Greater Des Moines is a private not-for-profit corporation celebrating 28 years of presenting the performing arts to Iowa and the surrounding states.  It is the presenter of major Broadway and educational touring companies, performers and groups, and is the performing home of many local and regional groups, including the Des Moines Symphony and StageWest.  All performances of the Broadway Series are supported by Betts Auto Campus. 

 

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