LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University’s Community Engagement Through the Arts class will collaborate with local elementary schools and community heroes for Superhero Day on Monday, April 18.
The event, which will be from 10 a.m. until noon in the Clive M. Beck Athletic and Recreation Center, will empower children to think of themselves as superheroes through activities such as games, art, a photo booth, robots, drones, free books—and capes custom-designed by the elementary school participants and CETA students.
“We wanted to do something we have never done before: bring together all the kids we have worked with and make a really fun experience for them that also has educational elements,” said English professor Kremena Todorova, who co-teaches CETA. “Because they share a neighborhood, we want these children to also share a morning together.”
This event—for students from Arlington and William Wells Brown elementary schools and Sayre School—is part of Transylvania’s Project One diversity and inclusion initiative.
“The best part so far was seeing the incredible enthusiasm and creativity of the students at William Wells Brown when they were making their own cape designs,” Transylvania junior Elly Maddy said.
Other Superhero Day activities will include a superhero play by Transylvania theater students, a performance by the university’s cheerleading and dance teams and demonstrations by the Lexington police and fire departments.
“It’s exciting to invite all of the children we have worked with to campus,” said art professor Kurt Gohde, the other co-teacher of CETA. “It’s important for children to have positive experiences on a college campus so they can more easily consider college as a future possibility.”
Superhero Day sponsors include the Blue Grass Community Foundation, Transy Athletics and the Kresge Foundation.
Community Engagement Through the Arts has engaged the neighborhoods surrounding Transylvania for nine years with a variety of projects, from quilting to painting murals to exploring what a sense of home means through a birdhouse-building project with Habitat for Humanity.