HOUSTON – The children's art class at the Holocaust Museum Houston is no ordinary art class. It’s a lesson with a purpose.
The paper butterflies these children are creating at the museum are meant to honor the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust during World War II.
It’s all part of the museum’s “National Learn About Butterflies Day.”
“I was going to write a poem on the back to describe the Holocaust and how people could have stopped it or prevented it,” Duchesse said, a museum patron.
The butterfly became a symbol of hope and freedom from oppression when a Pavel Friedman poem, "The Last Butterfly," was published after it was written in 1942. It’s about life in a concentration camp and the last butterfly he ever saw.
In addition to sketching their visions of hope, patrons got the chance to take selfies at the brand-new Butterfly Project photo stand.
“It just signifies what we all collectively want is to have a world that incorporates everyone. That's what the diversity of Houston is all about. That’s the diversity of the Holocaust museum is all about,” said Robin Cavanaugh, with the Holocaust Museum Houston.
“The goal is to not only educate, but inspire these kids on how to make the world a better place. I think it will help them see, you know, what some people can do to love each other and show love is still there,” said Ellis Ibizugbe, a museum patron.
Last March, the museum launched the Butterfly Project, a traveling display of six cases created from some of the 1.5 million butterflies forwarded to the museum by children from around the world to honor the children who died in the Holocaust.
