The Children’s Kiva Montessori school recently traveled to the Duke City for a science and cultural tour.
Twenty-four elementary students and 12 parents participated in the four-day Albuquerque field trip. The visit included the Explora Children’s museum, the Albuquerque aquarium, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, and a Day of the Dead parade.
Teacher Caitlin Munroe said students studied engineering at Explora and aquatic life at the science centers. Then they learned about the descendants of the Ancestral Puebloan people from a Taos Pueblo guide, and took part in the 22nd annual Dia De Las Muertos, a strong Latin American tradition in New Mexico.
“We are studying cultural traditions, and this was a good opportunity for them to learn first hand,” Munroe said.
The Day of the Dead parade was especially fun for the students, who made their own calvera masks, a special kind of sugar skull.
The Macabre celebration is different from Halloween, and is widely celebrated in Albuquerque.
At the festival students toured ofrendas, or altars, that families build of lost loved ones to display photos, candles, skulls, and the favorite foods and drinks of their dead.
“The trip was a real family affair with all of the parents attending,” Munroe said. “The kids were over the moon excited and learned about different cultures other than their own.”
The students raised $1,085 for the trip through bake sales in front of the Cortez City Market.
jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com