Nae's trip to the Jewish Museum!

Hey! Its Nae...I'm currently a zeummaster. I've been working here for two months now and i love everything about zeum especially helping kids create things by using their imagination.

All the zeummasters went to visit the Jewish Museum on 8/12/08. We had the chance get a tour given by two teens that work in the program there. The place was coo and from what i heard everyone enjoyed themselves. We learned how old the building is and what it was used for back in the day because part of the building is old and part is new. It was cool to see how the building had more meaning than what i'd thought was a "sacred place for people all around to see how Jews live and feel". Here's this coo pic that I got off their website!

I was impressed with the tour guides and their interest in the architechtural structure. They made it easier for me to become interested. What really shocked me was how much time and effort people had put into making the building..it shows they care about the space they were given because they were creative and used it wisely. I think the tour would've grabbed more people's attention if they showed us some art that resembled the Jewish community.

When i stepped inside of the building it was as if i was surrounded by art that i quite didn't understand. As they started to tell me about what the walls symbolized and the history of the building I started to become comfortable with the art. I was able to see how things connect.

It was great and I really enjoyed myself. This was a museum like no other, It had its own style. I usually walk into a museum and see painting or sculptures that represent something and I didn't feel that at the Jewish Museum...I'll be visiting again, soon!

World Savvy Jam Session!!!

Coming to work and knowing that I'm going to participate in a field trip is cool because field trips are rare, and it makes me feel special. Liz, Ari, Joshua, Jule, Wing Yan and myself were the 6 participating in the World Savvy Jam Session. We gathered at Zeum and walked to the SomArts Cultural Center located on 934 Brannan Street. It was a long walk, it took us about 30 minutes. The Jam Session was basically about youths bringing their creative energy and vision to make artworks with professional San Francisco artist while addressing the World Savvy theme: POWER!

Upon arrival we were all hungry, we all signed in and got our name badges. We were all separated into groups; pink, orange, blue and black. We were offered pizza and we all had two slices, they were delicious. After 60 minutes of waiting we were called into a big warehouse art room and we watched 'Kibera Kids.' It was about a young boy who wanted a life of his own because his parent died. He was always forced into doing things that he didn't want to like stealing phones from others and selling them for money. Everyday he would get beat for not stealing phones. Then one day he decided to leave the country Kibera and start a new life. It was about hope.

We got into our groups based on our registration color. I was in the blue group and our main focus is being a POET. Our group was very unique because the other groups did a physical activity and our group did a verbal activity and it was very strong and deep. We separated in two groups the resistant and the non-resistant side. I was in the resistant side and we had to come up with short lines starting with "I am ....... that's why they call me power" and the non-resistant side came up with quotes to support (positive way) the resistant side. My quote was "I am a very smart person and teachers and my peers look upon me for answers and they call me POWER." I had a lot of fun participating in this session. The people that I worked with to come up with different quotes were teenagers around my age and even the instructors were teenagers. Since I am shy in front a huge group a people, this session brought me out of my shell. It made me express my opinion on what I thought about POWER and how I can relate it in a poem.

After preparing for our performance we gathered into the big warehouse art room and group by group we did our presentations. Our group was second to last. I was a little bit nervous because I had to present my quote with the microphone to the big mob of an audience. Can you imagine what you would feel like in this situation? It was ... because I had to say why I was powerful.

The group I liked the most was the Pyramid group and our group Poet group. The pyramid group really showed a lot of self confidence because they had to climb on top of each other and if one person decides to doze off then the whole group fails. If I could change one thing I would extend the amount of time participating. It was very fun and interesting. There aren't a lot of organizations who offer free programs and sessions in San Francisco so I give them a lot of credit for hosting this event. If they're planning to do this again next year I'll indeed do it again.

Hitting the Road: Monterey Bay Aquarium!

Yesterday, April 6th, nine Zeummasters were fortunate enough to be able to go on a field trip to The Monterey Bay Aquarium and get to know a few teens over there.

After the two hour drive to Monterey (Perry drives like a grandma) we checked in at the Aquarium and were escorted to a room in the back of the building
(because we were V.I.P.s). We walked into a room filled with fish tanks and life-size replicas of sea otters and turtles and other wild life.

Once we settled in a little we got to meet the teens of W.A.T.C.H., Watsonville Area Teens Conserving Habitats. We played games where we got to know the teens more and basically "break the ice.". Getting to know everybody was pretty cool and after a few games we felt like we knew each other pretty well.

After the games, the Zeummasters talked to the group about what we do at Zeum. The educators sat back while we did the talking. We showed them our lovely blog that we write in religiously - got it up on a big projector - and the year-long project we're working on. I talked to them about the personal histories project, and the "what does home mean to you" project. I really believe that the Zeummasters made a great presentation. I didn't feel nervous at all.

Then the W.A.T.C.H. teens introduced their program and talked about what they're working on. We got to learn that they are a group of teens raising awareness in the Watsonville Area about the habitats around them. They all go to the same school, a school set in the middle of numerous wetlands.

Their program is cool, because they get to go out into the wetlands, dunes, etc. and do research. Some of their presentations won awards and a group was even able to go to Washington D.C.. Just listening to them, you could tell they were very involved with their projects and the environment they live in.

After their presentation we got to do some art! What we did together was a reflection of our programs, from how we've grown or what we love about the programs. During the project we got to interact even more with the other teens. In my group, we talked about colleges we're interested in, what we liked about our program, our backgrounds, they were all very outgoing people.

And then, the aquarium TOUR, led by their teens. The people I was with were cool. The Aquarium is such a big place, we actually got lost a few times. We got to see the sea otters, the penguins, and the jellyfish. The teens knew their way around so we got to see a lot. The Aquarium is so much bigger than Zeum. It was cool to be in a different environment for a day.

After the tour was over we got to show the W.A.T.C.H. teens a game we love to play at Zeum. Of course, the winners were both Zeum Masters. After the game, we had to say our good-byes, and end a great day.

The experience overall was a great one. To be in a different environment and interact with another teen group was pretty cool. They're all so passionate about the environment and conserving the areas in their community, just like we're passionate about our art and reaching out to the community. At Zeum, we're all about art and technology, but to see a place dedicated to preserving wild life and show how much the world is at risk from the things we're doing to it, it was eye-opening. The teens were great, they were so welcoming and able to help us with everything we were doing that day. I loved the day, and would love to do it again! =]

Click HERE to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Live Penguin Webcam!