Student Number 20,000
Sydney Jewish Museum has welcomed it 20,000th school student visitor this year…an all-time record.
Norman Seligman, Hannah Emily Jones , Olga Horak and Evan Snow Photo: Henry Benjamin/J-Wire
Hannah Emily Jones is a Year 10 student at Mackellar Girls’ Campus in Manly and was one of a large group of students who were attending the museum with a class from Coffs Harbour College to hear a lecture in Holocaust history from Auschwitz survivor Olga Horak.
Museum CEO Norman Seligman knew that the 20,000th visitor had arrived among the group but it was difficult to know which one it was precisely so a special tag had been hidden under one chair…that of Hannah Jones.
20,000th visitor – CEO Norman Seligman and Hannah Emily Jones Photo: Henry Benjamin/J-Wire
The Museum mad a special presentation to Hannah and her teacher Evan Snow of books for the school library but Coffs Harbour was not forgotten and also received a package.
Norman Seligman told J-Wire: “Last year we had 19,400 students which was a record in itself. Hannah was student 20,000 for this year but we expect the year’s total to exceed 22,000. We get students from all over the State and Canberra and this year we have had teachers visit the museum to attend courses from Brisbane.”
The Sydney Jewish Museum also offers tertiary education courses for university students and is planning to extend it s activities to corporate training in Holocaust history.”
Schools have been sending students to the Sydney Jewish Museum since its inception in 1992. Seligman added: “We had 10,000 students visit in 2002. It’s satisfying to know that today we doubled that figure. This is a huge achievement for the Holocaust Survivors, volunteers, and staff members who have worked tirelessly to make our education offering a success. It is a real testament to the quality of the programs we run here and the expertise of our guides and educators.””
The Museum’s education programs are designed to address the Holocaust Education component of the newly developed National Curriculum, and play a vital role in the Museum’s efforts to document and teach the history of the Holocaust.
