Behind the Scenes of BCM

The boardwalk where the Boston Children’s Museum is  located, frequently a madhouse and sometimes a ghost town. Working at BCM exercises four out of our five senses. The loud sounds of the xylophone,  babies crying, kids excited when they catch a fish/crab. Not one day is the same, we see and meet a variety of people, tourists, locals, first time fishers and returners. The pungent smell of the harbor on hot days and opening up the bait box to a stale stench. Asking the kids if the fish and crabs are hard or soft.
Take a second and think of how many jobs you have had that utilize all five senses?
As a person that works with young children, I enjoy teaching the ages from three to eight how to fish and about the Boston harbor. My favorite activity to lead is the process of how fishing can exercise the idea of patience and determination.  It’s a sport that I believe every young child should have the opportunity to try, the reward of catching a fish  teach them discipline and not to give up. 

The boardwalk attracts many people of all ages but the majority of people that we approach or are approached by are nannies, grandparents and parents with children ranging from 3-12 years old. We get summer program kids with their counselors that enjoy the free programming as well. The kids love catching crabs but get thrilled when a fish comes up on a line. 

The majority of time we are catching green crabs, medium sized but it should be mentioned that we caught an eel, five stripers, cunner fish, perch and a spider crab. Since we don’t catch fish often, it’s quite a celebration when we need to pull the net out.
The motto that I keep when I’m explaining the amazing Save the Harbor, Save the Bay is if someone child or adult enjoys the sport of fishing they will show care and concern on keeping the water clean.
Providing the free programming over the summer and having presence in the city that once had the dirtiest water will encourage people to recycle and not use the water as a garbage bin. 

Crabs ya later, 

Katerina