Stringtown High School GEAR UP Students Tour Dallas Holocaust Museum
Stringtown GEAR UP students loaded on a school bus early in the morning and took a long ride to Plano, Texas, where they were treated to a great lunch. Groups were formed and information was provided to them about the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education & Tolerance.
After arriving at the museum, students were divided into three groups. The group was greeted by Museum Group Coordinator Adilene Hernandez and given details of what to expect and how to proceed through the museum. Each student was given a handset with a set of numbers on it, much like a telephone. As the students proceeded through each area, there were numbers by each exhibit. The student would key in the numbers and listen on the handset about that particular item/exhibit.
The Museum was founded in 1984 and is dedicated to teaching the history of the Holocaust and advancing human rights to combat prejudice, hatred and indifference. The students were able to see many different artifacts from the Holocaust including shoes left over from survivors, clothes worn in prison camps, and an actual boxcar from Belgium used to transport Jews to concentration camps. The students were surprised at the number of prisoners each boxcar transported.
The audio–guided tour was completed and the students were taken to a theater to watch a movie of survivor stories from Holocaust survivors that were from the Dallas area. The video lasted over an hour, and some of the students were moved to tears watching the stories of the Holocaust. After the video, the students were given the opportunity to tour a special exhibit, “Holocaust by Bullets.” This Exhibit came to the Museum via a French organization and chronicles the lesser side of the Holocaust in which more than two million Jews were killed and left in unmarked graves throughout Urkraine, Belarus, and Russia.
“It was a long day,” said GEAR UP Education Coordinator Natalie Kennedy. “The trip lasted over eight hours, and the students had nothing but positive comments about the tour and they were thankful for the opportunity to attend.”
The field trip was sponsored by Eastern Oklahoma State College GEAR UP. Participating schools take two field trips each academic year— one that is cultural or educational in nature and one to tour a college or university.
Stringtown High School GEAR UP students recently toured the Dallas Holocaust Museum//Center for Education & Tolerance. Touring the Museum were: Front row: Shane Marley, Wes Givens, Reno Muggli, Dax Willis, Nolan Dodd, Jaden Parsons, Kobe Youngblood, Johna McCoy, Amy Wages, Ha’ley Rung, Rylee Dunlap, MaKenzie Brutchin, Gracie Jackson, Josey Allen, Mahkia Harrison and Brady Fuller. Back row: Brianna Tutor, Will Frost, Shyla Morris, Jacob Smith, Harley Stevens, Chance Tyrell, Jacob Campbell, Coben Humphrey, Wyatt Delay, Marianna Tiburcio, Gavin Barone, Christen Scott, Rider Couch, Tyson Clinton, Courtney Renfroe, Jordan Blakley, Deasarea Mutter–Gibson, Destiny Cook, Casey Refroe, Tanner O’Bannion, Jessica Gabbart, Gage Moore, Eric Magby, Ryan Thompson, Brandon Thacker, Jared Wyrick, Aron Smith, Jade Allen, Travis Carroll, Shelby Eldridge and Breanna Friday.