Kids Recreate History With Art-ifacts

Kids at Syosset public library Thursday evening participated in a program called "Egyptian Box Art-ifacts", and the program proved to be quite popular. 

Children from grades 3-5 were previously assigned a reading called "The Journal of Nakht", the story of an Egyptian man and his family. The story was meant to give kids some history of Egyptian culture and how they lived. 

The boxes, called "Shabti box", held statues that were buried with mummies for the afterlife. Kids at the library drew Egyptian pictures and hieroglyphics on their boxes, which could be used to store stuff like pens and pencils.

"There's something magical about the past," said children's librarian, Jessikah Chautin, who ran the program. "For them, it's to have fun expressing themselves through art, while learning about the past cultures they might not have known about."

Chautin added that kids love these types of program because of their interest in popular movies and books.

"It's definitely a subject of interest for them, with all these popular movies and books out today," Chautin said. "It's fun to live history through art, and if they learn a thing or do about history, that's what it's about."

Brian, a fifth-grader, showed off his cool drawings to his friends. On top of his box was his name, written in hieroglyphics. 

"I'm drawing this guy, he's big and muscular looking," he said. "It's supposed to represent protection." 

Chautin said she doesn't know when the next program will be held, but said that she would like to do another one of her favorite themes: Greek sculptures. 

"We did Greek pottery last time," Chautin said. "They'll read an abridged version of The Odyssey, which will be much easier for them to understand."

Check back for listings on library programs with Patch, and visit the Syosset library website for more info.