Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last Thursday evening the lights went out at exactly the same time as a group of proud students from Mildred Hall School were hosting hundreds at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre for the grand opening of their museum exhibit Stone and Bone to Code and Chrome, Ice Age to the Information Age.
It must have been a scene those students will remember for a lifetime. In the eerie quiet, by the light of flashlights, a giant saber-toothed tiger and a megatherium looming over you, cardboard Stone Age creatures come to life. A politician would have likely been grumbling that those power outages are taking us back to the Stone Age but for a child, magic.
I was delighted to visit the exhibit myself earlier this week and to be inspired by what is possible within our education system and within the new BC curriculum.
In building the giant cardboard creatures, the grade 1 and 2 students used their own creativity to figure out how to make them freestanding and then how to transport them to the museum intact. The grade 7 and 8 students created a historical timeline, researching human inventions all the way from the Stone Age to today, and they got to choose which historical events were most important to them. I didn't realize it but it turns out, yes, I do want to know about who invented peanut butter and when.
It is inspiring how much the students took ownership over their projects and were so motivated by the opportunity to share their work with a bigger community audience. Imagine that the rest of the world actually cares what they're doing, cares about their ideas, and wants to learn from them.
We spend our time at the ledge poring over education reports and statistics, but the success of our education system and the well-being of our children ultimately does depend on the people. The dedication and passion of our teachers and administrators, the family members and volunteers who help kids go the extra mile with their projects, and the support of the whole community. Kids need to know that adults are not just there to tell them what to do all the time. We are here to learn from them, to value their unique contributions, and to challenge them to take the lead and to show us the way. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.