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 Creative Connections
At a glance...
Creative Connections is a non-profit international cultural exchange organization that sets up class-to-class exchanges between American schools and their counterparts in many countries.
We believe that when young people from different parts of the world are given the opportunity to interact in a creative way, exciting and important learning takes place. Participants gain a keener awareness, understanding, and appreciation of other cultures, as well as their own.
CLICK HERE to view our "At a Glance" brochure in PDF Format
We run the following cultural exchange programs for 3rd-12th grade classes:
Cultural Connection. A cutting-edge video conference-based exchange for social studies, language arts, and foreign language classes. Paired classes in the USA and overseas (Russia, Mexico, and India in our pilot year) explore meaningful aspects of daily life through a series of facilitated live video conferences. Face-to-face, participating students explore cultural themes including school and home life, food, fashion, sports, religion, traditions, technology, the environment, social problems, etc. This innovative program is based on national and state curriculum standards in geography and the arts.
ArtLink. This unique program is designed for art classes. Students work on art projects designed to reflect their life and native culture. Then, they exchange their work with a partner class in a different country. Each year, the art is based on a diferent theme, requiring students to depict aspects of their culture in a creative way. The theme for 2008-2009 is "Windows: Looking In, Looking Out". At the end of each year, selected pieces from each exchange are hung in our annual international children's art show. Click here to see art from past years' exhibits.
Rainforest Connection. This innovative new program is an exciting collaboration between The Rainforest Alliance and Creative Connections. Rainforest Connection features the formation of unique classroom partnerships between 3rd through 8th grade students from the United States and countries in the Rainforest regions of Latin-America. Partner classes exchange a pair of scrapbooks that include pen pal letters, photographs, drawings and other illustrative materials that allow students to get to know one another and share information on how the environment affects the day-to-day life in their communities. Areas explored will include personal, cultural, and environmental topics.
In-Classroom Art Workshops We give art workshops right in local classrooms, featuring selected paintings from the show. In these workshops, students become "cultural detectives" as they examine the insightful children's art from around the world, looking for cultural clues. Contact our office if you would like to book a workshop for your school or organization.
Rain Forest Workshops In this 45 minutes workshop student explore human living in the RainForest and how the environment (wildlife, climate and vegetation) affects the social aspects of their day to day living. By watching a video and interacting with artifacts from the RainForest, students gain a closer understanding of these regions of the world.
Our International Young Performers' Tour Each year, we underwrite the costs of bringing over talented youngsters from one of our overseas partner schools to meet with, give workshops to, and perform for children and students in our area. Since 1999, we have hosted young performers from Russia, China, Uganda, Colombia, Ireland, and Cambodia. In Fall 2008, we will be sponsoring Abantu mu Buntu, the Ugandan storytelling dance troupe comprised of 12 - 18 year-old dancers. Click here for more information about the upcoming tour
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