Coney's Class Act

Coney Island History Project Executive Director Charles Denson visited two classes at PS 226 as part of the Brooklyn Public Library's educational outreach program. The students were completing a year-long project about Coney Island that included debates about development, creating video documentaries, and site visits to the neighborhood. The program was developed by the Brooklyn Public Library's local history division, Brooklyn Connections, which has also invited Denson to speak at a workshop for teachers called "Local History in the Classroom."

"The students were incredible," said Denson. "They were fascinated by Coney Island's history and asked probing questions about development, culture, and the past and future of the community. They were also interested in the techniques of primary source research, which really surprised me." Denson's book, "Coney Island: Lost and Found" was used as the program's textbook. "In the past the Coney Island History Project has worked with local schools PS 188 and Mark Twain, and we hope to expand the history program this year to include local ecology and how climate change will affect Coney Island's future," said Denson.