The Tribune

COMBINE excited first graders, parents who are just as eager, and the planning and expertise of Bahamas Educational Tours and the result is a fun-filled one-day excursion to a Bahamian gem - Bimini. Just over 50 persons - an equal mixture of children and adults - visited the island as part of Bishop Michael Eldon School's (BMES) first grade school trip to North and South Bimini. According to tour co-ordinator Michele Coburn, visits to other Bahamian islands are regular features of BMES' school curriculum and tour co-ordination is a service she has rendered to the institution for a number of years. "Their teachers actively believe in bringing lessons to life through guided tours that allow their students to gain hands-on knowledge and experience, and it's a pleasure for BET to put such trips in motion for them," she said. Highlights of the day trip included the Fountain of Youth; a guided nature trail; ferry boat rides; the Bimini Bay Resort; Bimini's last boat builder; a museum; the straw market; an open-air tram ride; and a sumptuous native lunch. Grade one BMES teachers Nodia Hanna and Petal Fawcett-Archer said the trip was a huge success. "Our kids are troopers," Ms Hanna said. "They totally enjoyed dipping their fingers into the water pail at the Fountain of Youth and seeing and touching a live Bimini Boa Constrictor on the nature trail." The parents who came along were just as excited about experiencing Bimini's delights, snapping photos with their children in front of a colourful iguana and listening attentively at the boat building workshop. "Trips like these allow us to share in their childhood studies and memories." commented one father, who took a day off work to accompany his son. "For me, this is priceless."