For Eastern Shore students who are getting virtual-learning fatigue, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) offers a welcome break: in-person, after school classes in maritime design and woodworking.
As part of CBMM’s Rising Tide program, students in grades 6–9 can attend the classes at the museum’s Workshop Annex in St. Michaels, 3:30–5:30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There are also virtual classes offered on Mondays beginning in November. Registration is required for both versions of the class, and the virtual session covers different subject matter than the in-person sessions, so students are welcome to sign up for both.
“Since 2015, Rising Tide has provided a welcoming, relaxed environment for students to learn hands-on skills through after-school and summer programming,” said Director of Education Jill Ferris. “Our instructors are working hard to… provide the mentoring, support, and engagement that are so foundational to the program.”
The Rising Tide program, offered free of charge, is part of CBMM’s efforts to address inequities for local youth.
To further its commitment to an accessible and inclusive culture, CBMM announced this week it has formed a Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) Committee. Its goal is to come up with measurable changes “to ensure a more diverse, equitable, accessible, and inclusive CBMM,” explains President Kristen Greenaway.
Greenaway believes the museum can do more to bring African American maritime history on the Eastern Shore to life, first with storytelling and then, in the long term, documenting and sharing.
-Meg Walburn Viviano
