Bring African culture into your classroom using our vast Resource Library, or tap into the many education resources in Colorado and online. Contact us for consulting services for helping you identify curriculum, performers, instructors or exhibits for your needs.

COLORADO-BASED EDUCATION RESOURCES

Abwenzi African Studies (Letters from Africa)

Address: PO Box 1962, Basalt, CO  81621

Tel: 970-927-2689   Fax: 970-927-2690   Email: abwenzi@rof.net

 http://www.lettersfromafrica.org

Abwenzi African Studies is a nonprofit organization that promotes cross-cultural education, friendships and understanding between Americans and Africans. .  Letters from Africa is an Emmy Award winning children’s special.  Young pen pals from Colorado and Malawi exchange letters, pictures and videos in this special documentary.   We are expanding our pen pal and educational opportunities to students nationwide with school programs, study guides and videos. Currently, Abwenzi is compiling a "Letters from Africa"/Malawi Study Guide to help teachers provide more African Studies opportunities in their classrooms. The guide is designed for use in grades 3-5, 7-9, 10-12.

 

Africa Centre

            Address: 1405 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO  80302

            Tel: 303-442-2637   Email: info@africacentre.org

            http://www.africacentre.org

Africa Centre is a non-profit project aimed at increasing social awareness and knowledge of Africa by providing information, materials and services to the local and national community. Africa Centre also seeks to enhance the knowledge of children and adults about African politics, natural resources, arts and culture. Resources and services include a reference library, slides, videos, music, curriculum guides, workshops and a calendar of local events.

 

Africa Today Associates, Inc

Contact: Eileen McCarthy Arnolds, Executive Administrator

Tel: 303-871-4444   Email: emcarnolds@yahoo.com

            Jim Scarritt, President, James.Scarritt@colorado.edu

Ed Hawley, Vice President, edhawley@juno.com

            Peter Van Arsdale, Treasurer, pvanarsd@du.edu

            Address: 2200 S. Josephine St., International House, Denver, CO 80208

http://www.du.edu/gsis/sfa/africatoday.htm

Africa Today Associates is an organization based at the University of Denver involved in research, human rights advocacy, and scholarship on African affairs. Our purpose is to spread knowledge and concern about the human rights crisis in Africa.  Africa Today organizes the annual Julius Nyerere Memorial Seminar that brings students, scholars, and activists together to discuss issues related to human rights in Africa.

  African Awareness Expos, Inc.

            Contact: Emei Endinma

            Address: 16574 E Kansas Place, Aurora, CO 80013

            Tel: 303-750-8514   Cell: 720-338-5171

African Awareness Expos is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting African culture.  We provide education on African culture in the areas of African arts, crafts, music and history.  Programs include African music and cuisine, arts, and fashion.  These programs are offered to schools, corporations, government agencies, churches and festivals.

 

Afrizen

Contact: Adenike Parker

Address: PO Box 54, Broomfield, CO 80038

Tel: 303-665-0718   Email: info@afrizen.com

http://www.afrizen.com

Learn conversational Swahili in ten weeks.  Swahili is the beautiful and poetic language of East Africa. Spoken by approximately 100 million people in several countries, it is Africa’s most widely understood language.  Our Swahili courses are based on the total immersion approach to language instruction. Classes are taught in Boulder and Aurora.

  Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library

Contact: Terry Nelson

Address: 2401 Welton Street, Denver, CO  80205

Tel: 720-865-2401   Fax: 720-865-2081   Email: tnelson@denver.lib.co.us

http://www.aarl.denverlibrary.org

Our Mission is to serve as an educational and cultural resource for the people of Denver, Colorado, and the world, focusing on the history, literature, art, music, religion, and politics of African Americans in Colorado and throughout the Rocky Mountain West.

  Conference on World Affairs         

University of Colorado                              

Address: 1424 15th St, UCB Box 465, Boulder, CO 80309-0465     

Tel: 303-492-2525   Fax: 303-492-3934   Email: cwa@colorado.edu

http://www.colorado.edu/cwa/

The University of Colorado's Conference on World Affairs was founded in 1948, originally as a forum on international affairs. The CWA has expanded rapidly and now every year in April approximately 100 participants representing a wide range of backgrounds gather in Boulder for what the New York Times calls "a week-long extravaganza of discussion and debate" on over 175 non-academic, cross-disciplinary panels, plenary sessions and performances.

 

Ghada Kanafani Elturk

            Address: PO Drawer H, Boulder, CO 80306

            Email: elturkg@boulder.lib.co.us

            Boulder Public Library Outreach Librarian

  Global Education Fund

            Address: 1057 Eighth Street, Boulder, CO 80302

Tel: 303-415-9935   Email: eliza@globaleducationfund.org

http://www.globaleducationfund.org

The Global Education Fund (GEF) is a nonprofit charitable organization working to see that books get in to the hands of the most needy children in the world. To date GEF has sent aid to fifteen countries, two of which are in Africa (Uganda and Ghana).  GEF sends books primarily to children living in orphanages and is run by volunteers and interns from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

 

The Institute for African American Leadership

Contact: Stephanie King

Address: 2590 Walnut St, Boulder, CO 80302

Tel: 303-444-3040   Email: Malaika Pettigrew at malaikap@mindspring.com

http://bcn.boulder.co.us/community/ubwbv or http://www.africaproject.org

The Institute for African-American Leadership (IAAL) is a yearlong leadership and community development/service project for students between the ages of 12 and 18.

 

Institute of International Education, Rocky Mountain Regional Center

Contact: Karen De Bartolome, Director

Address: 104 Broadway, Suite 500, Denver, CO 80203

Tel: 303-837-0788   Fax: 303-837-1409   Email: kdebartolome@iie.org

http://www.iie.org or http://www.denverworldaffairscouncil.org

The Institute of International Education (IIE) is a global organization founded in 1919 and committed to fostering a world of international cooperation.  We support activities and initiatives related to international business, diplomacy, education, the environment, world hunger and arms control.  Members of the Rocky Mountain Regional Center of IIE enjoy opportunities to participate in regional IIE programs, including activities sponsored by IIE’s three divisions:  Denver World Affairs Council; Fulbright, Scholarship and Exchange Programs; and International Visitor Program.

 

International English Center

Mailing address: 63 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0063

Address: 1030 13th Street, Boulder, CO 80302

Tel: 303-492-5547   Fax: 303-492-5515   Email: ieccu@colorado.edu

http://www.colorado.edu/iec/

The International English Center, established in 1975, helps advance the mission of the university through English language training and cultural orientation.

 

Kudzidza Foundation

            Tel: 720-327-3570   Email: bethie@zulazula.com

            http://www.kudzidza.com/

The Kudzidza Foundation is a non-profit working to establish and maintain a bridge of mutual education between the U.S. and Zimbabwe.  In the Shona language of Zimbabwe, Kudzidza means “education”.  We offer programs to support the lives of children and adults of Zimbabwe as well as other African communities.  We work with children and adults in the United States to share the traditional lifestyles of the African people.  Songs are used in the African culture to pass on values, history and traditions.  The best way to educate America is through our dynamic performances.

  Moyo Nguvu

Address: 1660 Gilpin Street, Denver, CO 80218

Tel: 303-377-2511   Fax: 303-321-1788   Email: moyonguvu@afrikanarts.org

 http://www.afrikanarts.org/

Moyo was founded in 1990 and is the first Pan-African cultural and healing arts center in Colorado.  We teach holistic medicine and maintain a clinic, as well as implement one of the oldest and most successful youth rites of passage programs in the USA.  We teach children and adults about African/African-American culture through African dance, music, martial arts, history, language and values.  We offer online interactive classes as well as a variety of workshops and performances.

 

Read More Books and Books for Africa

Contact:  Awon Atuire

Tel: 303-355-4148   Email: matuire@regis.edu

"Read More Books" and the Africa Centre's "Books for Africa" program facilitate linkages between local Colorado schools and schools in Africa.  The central mission of these partnerships is to promote reading and literacy, by responding to the material needs of rural schools in countries such as Ghana,  Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe. In fulfilling these needs, critical educational supplies are provided to African schools, and students in Colorado gain experience in international community service. 

 

Our name ‘Read More Books’ is derived from an inspirational message from the children of Cape Coast Castle Children’s library, our first community project in Ghana. 

 

Tinansa Intercultural Service Learning Program

Contact:  Melissa Nix

Tel: 303-458-4217   Email: mnix@regis.edu

Tinansa offers a consciously balanced academic and experiential learning program that explores the connections between West African history and heritage and African American social thought and experience. It is a cooperative effort of Regis University, participating Denver schools, the Africa Centre, Greater Park Hill Community, Inc., and Cape Coast Children’s Library.

In 2004, 10 selected high school and university students combined academic study at Regis University, service experience in Cape Coast, Ghana, and community action in the Denver area. The project allowed these students to work side-by-side with African school children to renovate/expand a children’s library. The Children’s library of Cape Coast Castle was chosen because in addition to the need for resources and the focus on literacy, the very location of the library in one of the most renowned former slave forts served as an important location to pursue some of the spiritual and healing work that could come about as a part of the experience.

The program is organizing another experience for the summer of 2006 and will be open to Regis undergraduate students.

 

                       

Online Educational Resources

• Penpals from around the world
   

• Africa Online -A current events site focusing on African cultures and affairs, with lots of pictures, graphics, short articles and topical information.
   

• Africam - Grades 4-12 - Here's a South African site that offers images and camera feeds from a variety of wildlife parks and refuges in Africa. There's no way to know exactly what you'll find, and the speed of your connection will certainly affect the performance, but you can find great images here.
   

• Civilizations in Africa - This site from Washington State University offers a college-level survey of the evolution of African tribal cultures over the past millennium. The text highlights the blending of nomadic tribal influences, as well as interactions with cultures in India and the mideast. Good information for a serious student, or for teachers who need additional background on the evolution of African cultures.
   

• African Voices - The Smithsonian has created a colorful, if sometimes awkward, resource for studying African history, art, and culture. The site features works by African sculptors and artists, but the African history time-line is the most useful instructional component. It shows African influences in Spain, the New World, and many other places. We hope the content for these sections will expand over time. Still, this is a very useful resource for explaining the evolution and spread of African cultural elements.
   

• Maps Of Africa A great database of African maps for geography/history teachers. This site offers many different maps on African countries …anything from vegetation to political (many political). There is also a range in years; some maps date back as far as 1975. This site may be useful if you’re looking for specific detail (agriculture in 1994); however, the map files are large and may take a while to download.
   

• South Africa History -This site, part of the Annenberg Center's collection of web lessons, offers a basic history of South Africa from early Dutch settlements through the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In doing so, it explores the country's efforts to death with the legacy of Apartheid. This is a site that students could easily use on their own.
   

• The Story of Africa - The BBC's presentation of African history works forward from about 200 AD, examining cultures of various African regions and the influences of Islam, colonialism, and the like. There are extensive subdivisions, each with its own presentation, images, timeline, and resources. There's a wealth of information here for any study of Africa and its history.
   

• Time Line - Africa South of the Sahara - This site, part of the Web Chron series, presents a concise time line of events in Sub-Saharan Africa from about the year 1000 forward. There are links to additional specifics, which may involve more detail than secondary students need, but the overall flow of events is sufficient to show the extent to which functioning civilizations and governments were operating in Africa prior to the colonial period.
   

• Virtual Villages - Southern Africa This site from CNN chronicles the role which technology is playing at the local level in helping developing to overcome basic development issues. The site offers four case studies in the ways that the addition of small amounts of technolgy can create major changes in the ways that simple communities work and behave. Lots of interesting "why and how" lesson possibilities in this one.
   

• (African Folktales) Deep in the Bush Where People Rarely Go. Teachers in grades K-8 can use folktales to bring Africa alive in their classrooms. The site, developed by teacher Phillip Martin while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia, West Africa, includes lesson plans, the folktales, plays, African recipes, links to other African resources, and ideas for students to create and produce their own plays.
   

• Art and Life in Africa Project. Based on the project's CD-ROM, the site contains information on106 African peoples, profiles of 27 African countries and an online searchable Catalogue of the Stanley Collection of Africa Art (with images and descriptions of over 500 items). For 47 lesson plans from K-12 teachers in Iowa based on the CD-ROM, click on Data Bank of Unit Designs (Lesson Plans) for K-12 Teachers.
   

• Mr. Donn's Ancient History Page. Designed for middle school students, the site features lesson plans, work sheets, time lines, clip art, and maps for Archeology, Early Man, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, India, Africa, Inca/Maya/Aztecs/ and others.
   

• Life in Africa
  The Life in Africa Foundation is an Internet based organisation incorporated in Uganda to propagate educational, inspirational and cultural ideas about contemporary life in Africa to a global audience, through presenting literature, art and photography from the African continent, and we support microfinance through guaranteeing low-cost loans for Africans.
   

• Zoom School
  A searchable "on-line elementary school classroom with lessons in geography, biology, language arts, and early childhood activities." Geography covers Africa, Australia, Antarctica, Canada, the Great Wall of China, Japan, and the United States of America. Science/Biology contains astronomy, birds, butterflies, dinosaurs, sharks, whales, other mammals, and the rainforest. Also included is information about the aardvark, alligator, ape, beaver, Ice Age mammals, ladybug, manatee, panda, saber-toothed cat, and tiger. There are several illustrated dictionaries (including a bilingual picture dictionary available also in English-French, -Spanish, -German, or -Portuguese) as well as crafts projects
   

• Africaonline Kids
  Welcome to Kids Only! Here's your chance to learn about Africa.Read Rainbow Magazine-a Kenyan magazine for kids, play games and decode messages, learn about the over 1000 languages in Africa, meet African students on line, find a keypal, or just browse around.
   

• PBS' Kids' Africa
  Explore the world wide web with Anansi, the African spider who loves adventures. So, join Anansi in a treasure hunt called The Quest for the Magic Calabash! You can also find offline activities.
   

• Meet Kids from South Africa
  Get to know kids like you who live in South Africa. You can find out about their interests, sports, histories, and more through this resource by scholastic.
   

• AfriSchool
  AfriSchool is a virtual classroom, educating children around the world about Africa’s beautiful environment and diverse wildlife, and it is free, flexible and available all around the world. AfriSchool was born out of a relationship that developed on the AfriCam chat between a teacher, Diana, in Alberta, Canada, and several dedicated AfriCam community members. A very special thanks to Sandy and Alan Morton who were vital in the formation of what has grown to be the successful AfriSchool as we know it today.
   

• 21st Century Schoolhouse
  Links to schools in Uganda and Botswana
   

• Africa Quest
  Welcome to AfricaQuest! From October 5 through November 13 a team of adventurers and experts bicycled through the Rift Valley in search of answers to Africa's greatest mysteries
   

• Just for Kids
  ... Namib Desert Adventures. Discover Okavango. Colors for Africa --Children's Story. Africa Online: Kids.
   

• RaJean and Co. Cultural Education Concepts
  Themes: PEOPLE AND ENVIRONMENT ,PEOPLE IN SOCIETY , PEOPLE AND THEIR BELIEFS
   

• http://www.kidsdomain.com/down/pc/africass.html
   

• African Crafts Online
  A few ideas for the classroom to get started, but we're hoping to bring many more lesson plans and educational materials in the future. And we're planning on facilitating cooperative projects between schoolchildren in Africa and the rest of the world.
   

• Orientation: the regional search directory
  This is a great directory of information about Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, organized by subject. Find resources on arts and activities, business and trade, events past and present, facts and information, ideas and institutions, people and cultures, science and technology, and travel and exploration.
   

• Tales, Fables, and Stories from Africa
  The mouse goes everywhere - into rich people's homes and into the poorest people's homes. In the old days the mouse made stories from all that she saw. Stories were her children. Each story-child had its dress - white, blue, red, green, and black. The stories lived in her house and did everything for her. One day a sheep ran against the door of the house where the mouse lived. The door was old, it broke, and all the stories ran out. Now they run up and down over all the earth.
   

• Tropical Rain Forest
  Of all the many and varied natural environments to be found on the earth, perhaps the most awe-inspiring and popular are the tropical rain forests. Although it is the forests of the Amazon which spring most readily to mind, it is important to remember that they also occur in parts of North America, Asia, Australia, and Africa.
  

• Virtual Journey of Togo
  One of the smallest countries in West Africa, never more than 120km wide at any point, Togo is a long narrow country stretching up from the lively maritime region on the Gulf of Guinea to the hot, dry savannahs of the remote North-west.

• Congo Gorilla Forest
  Welcome to the Wildlife Conservation Society's Grand Opening of the amazing, new Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit at the Bronx Zoo. This huge 6.5 acre African rain forest environment explains WHAT a rain forest is, HOW it works, WHICH animals make it their home, WHY it is threatened and HOW people can help save it.