Students to bring history alive at chautauqua event

About 60 students from the Colorado Springs Conservatory, AcademyACL and Eagleview Middle School will step into the shoes of a figure from history, presenting their characters Saturday at the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum through monologues and question-and-answer sessions.

“It’s fun to learn about someone,” said 12-year-old Ezekiel Magri, a sixth-grader at the Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning.

Dressed in a grey suit and dark leather shoes, Ezekiel spoke about growing up as Henry Ford, and how his father didn’t understand why he liked taking things apart just to put them back together.

Ezekiel said he was surprised to learn how inventive Ford was as a child, and how much trouble he got into.

Some 85 kids in the region will participate in the Young Chautauqua Experience. This round focuses on the period of 1876-1976.

“There are a lot of interesting characters from that time,” said Madeleine Mellini, Colorado Springs Conservatory communications director.

Organizations including Colorado Humanities, Pikes Peak Library District and Rocky Mountain PBS worked together on the program.

Colorado Humanities sends adults, who portray characters at history events around the state, to coach students with their roles and work with teachers to build a curriculum.

“It’s a program that combines scholarship, research and performance,” said Margaret Coval, Colorado Humanities executive director. “They really get excited delving into the life of a person.”

Students must find first-person records of their chosen character along with other resources, write monologues and develop public speaking skills.

“This is a new way of educating people,” Mellini said. “Each year the program grows.”

The program helps students identify with faces from history, said Jesse Wilson, AcademyACL teacher.

Students also learn that many famous people overcame challenges as they were growing up, he said.

“Dressing up was my favorite,” said 7-year-old Ellie Myers, Academy ACL fourth-grader.

Stepping into the life of Louisa May Alcott, Ellie said she had liked the author’s books for a while, but never knew that Alcott worked as a nurse in the Civil War. Performing at the Pioneers Museum will be exciting, she said.

AcademyACL third-grader Madi Thompson, 9, also was looking forward to performing.

“I’ve been there and it’s very interesting,” she said. She chose to study the life of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts.

“She was very talented and kind,” Madi said, adding that the youth leader preferred the nickname of Daisy.

Dressing up and learning history to share it with others is part of the chautauqua tradition.

The name is from a lake in New York state where the movement started in the 1800s. To date, more than 2,000 students in Colorado have participated.

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