Students Virtually Tour Museum for Day of the Dead Celebration

With the current pandemic, everyone has had to stay creative and find new ways to continue celebrating and hosting regular traditions. At Bremen High School District 228, one of those celebrations and traditions is teaching students about Day of the Dead or Día de Muertos which takes place on November 1 and November 2.

School libraries and Spanish Classrooms are typically transformed with ofrendas (alters), paper marigolds, and other decorations. Students and/or teachers will even bring pan de muerto and traditional treats.

For example, here's a photo of the library transformed at the Day of the Dead Celebration held at Bremen High School last year:

Danica Mathis, who is a Spanish Teacher at Oak Forest High School, wanted to continue teaching her students about Day of the Dead and make it as special as possible for them. She ended up scheduling a virtual tour with the Mexican Fine Arts Museum located in Pilsen (Chicago). Students were then guided through the museum's Day of the Dead exhibit and asked questions virtually.

When Mrs. Mathis was asked how came up with the idea to take her students on the virtual tour, she said, "I have always wanted to take my students to this museum. It is in Pilsen and there is so much cultural beauty in the community that I wanted my students to experience this for themselves. There is a section of the museum where visitors may write a note to people in their lives who have passed and place it on a display. Many of the students I have taken in years past have participated in this and I saw in their faces how much this meant to them. I go every year and take pictures of the ofrendas and share them with my classes."

Mathis was also extremely grateful to the museum for the opportunity as she said the virtual tour options have been going quickly due to the popularity of the exhibit.

"It had been challenging trying to get a tour in the past because of how popular it is so this year I saw that they were promoting virtual tours. We were lucky because after the many times I have called, they happened to have a cancelation at the exact time my 4th period (Spanish 2 Honors) was meeting. I am so impressed at the way the museum guided the tour during this time of the pandemic. They simply joined my Google Meet class and walked us through the museum. It felt like we were really there! "

Students in Mrs. Mathis' Spanish 2 Honors Class also celebrated the holiday by making Calaveras on their faces or on paper.

The district is appreciative of its students and staff who have remained creative during the pandemic and who continue to embrace new opportunities for learning.