Third-grader Aaliyah shows off her Nigerian garb.
Kindergartners visit the Nigerian exhibit.
For two days in November, students at PS 151 in Bushwick, Brooklyn, traveled the world without leaving their building.
Passports in hand, they admired sculpture in Nigeria, sampled delicacies of the Middle East, spoke French while gazing at the Eiffel Tower and smelled the spices and fingered the prayer rugs of Jordan. The teachers were treated to — and mighty grateful for — the strong, sweet kick of Turkish coffee.
The entire school — principal, 30 teachers and 10 paraprofessionals — created the eye-opening travel portal for students and parents to step through.
Last year’s International Multicultural Day event, which was the school’s first, was such a smash that this year’s was doubled to two days. Parents and students traveled from country to country (commonly known as classrooms) immersing themselves in the language, art, food and culture of each land.
Erica BergerYams and plantains are available for all to learn about. Erica BergerTianni and Analia love their Nigerian outfits.
Chapter Leader Deborah Sherman (left) has her students hold up their “passports.” Erica BergerSharing a traditional dance with her 3rd-graders is teacher Valerie Lashley.
Saul, 9, felt a familiar and familial pride when he entered the (classroom of the) Dominican Republic and was handed a Morir Sonando (“To Die Dreaming,” in English), an ice-cold concoction made of condensed milk, sugar, water, orange juice and crushed ice. “It reminded me of when I visited my aunt, grandma, grandpa and uncle,” he said.