We had a fabulous day! Martin was the photographer extraordinaire! The kids had a ball. Thanks to Nikki for organizing and Oasis who donated everything but the tips!
Our happy Kayaking adventurers waiting for the last few to arrive before we hop on the bus and head for the North Creek. Yay! Turks and Caicos National Museum Kid’s Club!
Lots of happy smiles peeking out the windows of our blue bus. We are all ready for a grand day and of course adventure. The first adventure was a flat tire on the way to North Creek! But we managed to arrive right side up and happy.
First excitement of the day, besides the flat tire, upside down jelly fish floating all along the edge of the dock.
We are reassured that the upside down jelly fish do not sting, Judelane, our junior counselor, relayed the comforting information.
Time to get our life jackets fitted and snapped up tight.
Some of the jackets came in very pretty colors and everyone gets to choose.
The S on this happy campers jacket stands for speed! An athlete in the making.
Captain Mark watching as the first kayaks cross the creek to the mangroves. The point of the lesson is to go in a straight line!
Paddles up! Treat your paddle with respect, it can harm someone if you are not in control of your paddle.
Waiting patiently to climb into the yellow glass bottom kayaks. How Cool!
Donna and Tanya, our first moments floating, life is good! And the water is crystal clear!
Dr. Tomas and son, lead the way! Notice how expertly he holds his paddle!
Captain Mark addresses the group and teaches us all about mangroves. Crossing the creek was successful. Only one of the kids had kayaked before and we were almost pros already. The boats were quite stable and the weather fabulous.
Anupside down jelly fish! Want to hold one? The funniest event of the day was when Tanya, eager to hold a jelly fish, let go dropping it onto the floor of our kayak! Ugh! Sting or no sting, not something you want in your boat. Our very kind guide removed it!
We hit the beach! Could the water be more beautiful?
Very proud kayakers! Perfect day, perfect water!
Nature walk, lessons about the bush and local plants. We learned a lot!
A sea cucumber, strange creature that grows in your hands. Unique feeling!
A sea urchin scooped out of the sea, alive and well. You can feel the prickles moving as you hold it in your hand.
This is also a sea urchin but he is the nasty type. Don’t step on his spikes because if you do you will find yourself in bed for a month!
A live conch! Time for a true taste of the sea!
Whoopee! After all that paddling and learning it is time to jump into the refreshing turquoise water.
Time to paddle back to the dock, and on the way back a big boat came by and made us a big wave! We arrived right side up, no problem! Ya, Mon, thanks to Captain Mark and his crew, we were well trained.
A Huge thank you to Oasis divers who donated the excellent boat, fabulous Captain and guides, and the wonderful Blue bus that brought us back home both safe and happy to the museum!
- Published in Children's Club News
On April 9, 2012 Fred (Fritz) Miller returned to Grand Turk just 2 months shy of his original landing 60 years ago July 7, 1952. This time he came with his beautiful bride, Phyllis and they were bearing wonderful gifts to add to the museum’s archival history of the Turks & Caicos Islands.
US Air Force Staff Sargent Frederick Miller was part of the Inter-American Geodetic Survey team was given the daunting task of mapping an entire continent. It became apparent during World War II bombing expeditions that adequate maps for most parts of the world did not exist. With the advent of travel by air day and night, it was of great importance to know where the mountains are! So the United States in collaboration with many other countries began the biggest geodetic and mapping programs ever undertaken.
Fred was stationed in North Caicos installing the survey station named Repay 23. Living conditions were definitely not 5 star. He lived in a tent, bathed in the sea, traveled by foot or on a sway backed horse and depended on the arrival of an amphibious aircraft for food supplies. He made friends with a young man named Robert who provided him with fresh conch and fish. The best part of his 3 month stay.
The gifts to the museum include a hand drawn chart of Secondary Controlled Photography and locations of Control Point Photography prepared by the First Computations Technical Squadron on January 25, 1952, photographs of the survey site and surrounding area as well as local people, Fred’s daily log of the highs and lows of life on an isolated island (we now call it Fred’s Blog), a copy of an article in the March, 1956 issue of National Geographic entitled Men Who Measure the Earth which features Fred and an in depth explanation of the survey project, and last but not least a hand-woven grass mat by Emiy A. Robinson.
She wove her name into the mat along with the inscription Whitby North Caicos. So the mat melds the technical and social history of the Turks & Caicos Islands.
We all enjoyed meeting Fred and Phyllis a lively and friendly couple. We can’t thank them enough for sharing this part of our history that would have been lost if not for their effort to bring these gifts to our museum. Most of all thanks for putting us on the map–literally!
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
By Pat Saxton
Director
The Turks and Caicos National Museum was lucky enough to participate in the 50th Anniversary celebration of the splashdown of John Glenn. Appropriately named “ Splashdown Grand Turk” the week long festivities included a Stamp contest, fireworks, naming of John Glenn Drive, science fair, reception at Waterloo, educators from NASA visiting local schools, and NASA Deputy Director, Ms. Janet Petro, and retired Mercury Radar Technician, Mr. Alan Rakofsky arriving on Grand Turk!
Mr. Rakofsky told the Museum staff about life here on Grand Turk in the 1960’s. He is as spry as he was then, and now volunteers at the John F. Kennedy Space Center. We have a volunteer career for you here too Mr. Rakofsky!
Ms. Petro presented a lovely plaque to the TCNM with a first issue stamp commemorating the Mercury splashdown and subsequent trip by John Glenn into space at age 77.
Carnival Corporation spearheaded this celebration and if you are ever on Grand Turk you must stop by the Cruise Center and see the great outdoor space exhibit! New murals were installed during this 50th anniversary celebration!
The Turks and Caicos National Museum is selling commemorative pins with the 50th Anniversary logo. A small amount of pins are being sold, so if you are a NASA nut, now is your time to come to the Museum and purchase a pin! When you do, you will receive a FREE poster of the Turks and Caicos Islands seen from outer space!
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
November 1, 2011 – Our outgoing Chief Justice Gordon Ward and his wife Meg have donated a Royal Albert Bone China Tea Set to the Turks & Caicos National Museum. This exquisite set belonged to his mother Ellinor Ward.
The Chief Justice said the set must be at least 80 years old as he remembers his mother using it from when he was very young.
Of course we will not divulge the age of the Chief Justice just to satisfy our curiosity! Suffice to say, he was born in Kut Ching in Borneo (now Malaysia) and was the third generation of his English family to be born there, so he came of age in the Colonial Era.
The tea set for 4 is in perfect condition. We are hoping to display it in the planned exhibit of a colonial administrator’s office. On behalf of the Museum, we thank the Wonderful Wards for leaving this family heirloom in our care. The memory of Ellinor Ward, her son and daughter-in-law will live on in Grand Turk.
- Published in Museum News
By Jackie Garbarino
Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager
Our outgoing Chief Justice Gordon Ward and his wife Meg have donated a Royal Albert Bone China Tea Set to the Turks & Caicos National Museum. This exquisite set belonged to his mother Ellinor Ward.
The Chief Justice said the set must be at least 80 years old as he remembers his mother using it from when he was very young.
Of course we will not divulge the age of the Chief Justice just to satisfy our curiosity! Suffice to say, he was born in Kut Ching in Borneo (now Malaysia) and was the third generation of his English family to be born there, so he came of age in the Colonial Era.
The tea set for 4 is in perfect condition. We are hoping to display it in the planned exhibit of a colonial administrator’s office. On behalf of the Museum, I thank the Wonderful Wards for leaving this family heirloom in our care. The memory of Ellinor Ward, her son and daughter-in-law will live on in Grand Turk.
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
October 12, 2011 – In an effort to promote the sister islands, Air T&C is offering an excursion fare from Providenciales to our nation’s capital. As part of the “Grand Turk Discovery Day Tour” package, the lucky passengers receive round trip air travel, a taxi tour of Grand Turk, a leisurely visit to the National Museum and lunch at a local restaurant.
Recently the staff responsible for selling this fabulous tour was given the chance to experience it first hand. I arranged to meet the group at the museum before opening hours so they would have a chance to truly savor the museum without distractions. What a charming and enthusiastic staff they are. I am sure they will convince many tourists and residents of Provo to visit Grand Turk and most importantly the museum. An institution that has preserved and promoted the history, culture and heritage of the Turks and Caicos Islands for twenty years.
We are so privileged to be able to offer our visitors a journey from the Ice Age to the Space Age with an extraordinary stop in the Age of Discovery. We never disappoint and we almost always amaze! So thank you all at Air Turks & Caicos for including our wonderful old house on your excursion to Grand Turk. We look forward to offering your passengers a memorable experience.
Air Turks & Caicos staff from left to right: Andre Kerr, photographer; Maria Garth, Director of Customer Services; Guerline Jeune, Lead Reservation Agent; Dina Awad & Alexandra Missick, Reservation Agents.
For more information contact Reservations at Air T&C or call 649-946-4999.
- Published in Museum News
By Jackie Garbarino
Gift Shop and Volunteer Manager
In an effort to promote the sister islands, Air T&C is offering an excursion fare from Providenciales to our nation’s capital. As part of the “Grand Turk Discovery Day Tour,” the lucky passengers receive round trip air travel, a taxi tour of Grand Turk, a leisurely visit to the National Museum and lunch at a local restaurant.
Recently the staff responsible for selling this fabulous tour was given the chance to experience it first hand. I arranged to meet the group at the museum before opening hours so they would have a chance to truly savor the museum without distractions. What a charming and enthusiastic staff they are. I am sure they will convince many tourists and residents of Provo to visit Grand Turk and most importantly the museum. An institution that has preserved and promoted the history, culture and heritage of the Turks and Caicos Islands for twenty years.
We are so privileged to be able to offer our visitors a journey from the Ice Age to the Space Age with an extraordinary stop in the Age of Discovery. We never disappoint and we almost always amaze! So thank you all at Air Turks & Caicos for including our wonderful old house on your excursion to Grand Turk. We look forward to offering your passengers a memorable experience.
Air Turks & Caicos staff from left to right: Andre Kerr, photographer; Maria Garth, Director of Customer Services; Guerline Jeune, Lead Reservation Agent; Dina Awad & Alexandra Missick, Reservation Agents.
For more information contact Reservations at Air T&C or call 649-946-4999.
- Published in A Day at the National Museum
By Malcolm Ferreira
The last event of the Summer Children’s Program was horseback riding. Chukka Tours organized the outing, free of cost. Stephanie Human , Nikki Jennings and I provided assistance as “look-outs”. We then had a picnic at the Lighthouse . A huge thanks to Chukka Tours who also provided transportation to and fro. We were all happy and tired at the end of the day.
- Published in Children's Club News
By Malcolm Ferreira
Monday last. August 8, 2011 we did the bird walk with Malcolm as the guide…we didn’t get to draw because we were so tired…we did the entire bird trail in the HOTTTTT sun….
It was a good day and we saw lots of birds!
- Published in Children's Club News
By Malcolm Ferreira
Stephanie Human from The TCSPCA visited the clubhouse on July 25 and brought along two puppies. She ve a full lecture on care, feeding, grooming and all it entails to have a pet…then the kids drew pics pf puppies, guided by Judelain.
- Published in Children's Club News