Located in downtown, HistoryMiami is a museum dedicated to preserving the culture and history of Miami. Every second Saturday, they host Family Fun Days – an experience that usually includes live performances and activities.
On January 11th, the Family Fun Day was oriented towards teens, especially those into sports. Teen Fun Day: Get In The Game featured a sports station, where children could hula hoop, kick a soccer ball and throw a football.
Marilyn Hotz, who used to teach home ec at a high school and now lectures, hosted a seminar on cooking skills for those who spend a lot of time burning calories. She spoke about healthy foods and how to balance various food choices during her Teen Sports and Nutrition seminar.
From 2 to 3pm, museum visitors got to make smoothies, breakfast wraps, yogurt parfaits and sandwiches – all healthy thanks to the rainbow of fruits and vegetables that littered the table.
Where just recently the Bob Marley exhibition was, visitors got to play sports and design their own basketball hoop, as well as paint a sporty glass acrylic. For those who preferred to explore the history of Miami, the museum had free admission.
Felix Varela High School student, Jacqueline Suazo, part of the Teen Miami Council at HistoryMiami, said “Working the family fun day at the museum is sort of an adventure. We follow a schedule, but time goes by so quick, it could be stressful. It’s a social environment; this event brings out people from all walks of life. I enjoyed seeing people come out to appreciate Miami history and culture. I even gave part of a tour, and as nervous as I was, it’s a fulfilling experience.”
The Teen Miami Council was on scene, overlooking the crafts and welcoming people into the museum.
Suarmis Travieso, the Teen Miami Coordinator, said, “Teen Fun days are a way for the Teen Council to actually be involved directly with the museum visitor and a way for them to gain professional knowledge on how to do visitor services, how to facilitate tours, how to engage the visitor through craft activities, from all kind of ages, from children to adult.”
“It exposes the teens directly to Miami’s history, through the fact that they have to learn our history to facilitate our tours,” Suarmis continued to add.
Part of the Teen Council provided a gallery tour through the permanent exhibition, guiding visitors through hundred’s of years in Miami’s history.
The next family fun day at HistoryMiami will be held on February 8th.
