Red Star Line Museum

An amazing visit to the Red Star Line Museum this weekend! It’s a museum telling the moving story of the exodus from Europe at the turn of the 20th century. Red Star Line was a private passenger liner company that brought over 2 million Europeans to America. Simon enjoyed following the story of a 9 year old girl Basia Cohen who fled the violence and hunger in Ukraine in 1919 (well, maybe it was not the story that actually triggered his interest but the exciting quest involving looking for a suitcase in every hall of the museum and completing the tasks hidden inside the suitcase).

Simon and Neva posing for an extended family picture together with their cousins, in the style of the early 20th century family photographs
Simon reading Basic Cohen’s story out loud
Albert Einstein’s diary written aboard the Red Star Line ship
Albert Einstein’s letter of resignation written on Red Star Line stationary
Simon and Neva undergoing a pretend medical examination (eye test), just like the passengers of the Red Star Line
Another suitcase
Upon arrival in New York’s Ellis Island, the newcomers were obliged to do an intelligence test (a puzzle with wooden blocks). Simon has managed to complete the task, so he would have been accepted to enter America!
Simon listing a reason for why he’d like to immigrate to America. He was first reluctant to take part in this pretend play as he was afraid it would somehow turn into reality. This is a funny side of him, taking things too literally sometimes.

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