Education France Project #31940

A museum to tell the story of St. Martin

by Les Fruits de Mer

A museum to tell the story of St. Martin

Project Report | Dec 1, 2025
New books, new exhibits, many thanks!

By Mark Yokoyama | Project Leader

Amuseum Around Me at the Migratory Bird Festival

Thank you so much for supporting Les Fruits de Mer and Amuseum Naturalis. We are doing wonderful things thanks to your help!

Here are a few highlights from the last few months:

We had a great Migratory Bird Festival and launched Amuseum Around Me, a new book for young students visiting the Amuseum.
We hosted heritage days with a tour of the Amuseum. Serge Gumbs presented his research on St. Martiners who fought in WWI, WWII and the Algerian War. Soualiwomen Kultural Association (SKA) did demonstrations of traditional johnny cake baking in wood-fired barrel ovens.
We developed and launched an English-Dutch edition of Animals Around Me to help kids on the South side of St. Martin develop the Dutch language skills they need to pursue college and careers throughout the Dutch Kingdom.
We finished new exhibit panels about snails and installed them at the Amuseum.
We are about to launch a collection of writings by beloved St. Martin author and artist Ruby Bute in two editions: English-French and English-Dutch. 4,000 copies will be given to students on both sides of the island!

Thanks so much for your support! We love what we are doing together and we’re going to keep building on our successes.

We welcome donations of any size, one-time or recurring. Your help makes all of this possible!

Many thanks!!!

Aquatic snail discovery at Migratory Bird Festival

Serge Gumbs shares his history research

SKA shows how johnny cakes are made

One of our new snail exhibit panels

Animals Around Me in English and Dutch

Links:

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Aug 4, 2025
School visits, johnny cakes, snails and more!

By Mark Yokoyama | Project Leader

School group at the Amuseum

Thank you so much for supporting Les Fruits de Mer and Amuseum Naturalis. We had an amazing first half of the year thanks to your help!

Here are a few highlights from the last few months:

We wrapped up a project that reached over 10,000 kids on both sides of St. Martin!
We hosted 34 school classes and summer camps at the Amuseum over the past school year.
The Soualiwomen Kultural Association led a johnny cake making workshop at the Amuseum, complete with traditional barrel ovens.
We participated in the St. Martin Book Fair and gave away books to all the attendees on the opening night.
We’re developing bilingual English-Dutch books for distribution on the south side of St. Martin. Teachers reported that Dutch was the toughest subject for engaging their students. It’s true that the language isn’t used a lot on the island, but it is vital for anyone pursuing higher education in the Netherlands, and for many careers in St. Maarten and anywhere in the Dutch kingdom.
We’re working on some new exhibits and materials about St. Martin land snails.

Thanks so much for your support! We love what we are doing together and we’re going to keep building on our successes.

We welcome donations of any size, one-time or recurring. Your help makes all of this possible!

One of our major donors that funded almost 10,000 books for students over the past year is pausing their grants for the 2025-26 school year. We are looking for ways to fill that gap and would love your help!

Many thanks!!!

Animal ornament craft at the Amuseum

Johnny cake workshop at the Amuseum

Book table at the St. Martin Book Fair

One of St. Martin's native snails

Links:

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Apr 8, 2025
Heritage and nature from the past to the future!

By Mark Yokoyama | Project Leader

SoualiKulture book launch

Thank you so much for supporting Les Fruits de Mer and Amuseum Naturalis. We’re off to a great start in 2025 thanks to your help!

What are we doing together? We’re doing our best to reach every kid on St. Martin to help them learn about how awesome their island is! It’s an amazing project. We get to help the next generation of leaders appreciate their nature, know their heritage and be proud of their identity.

Here are a few highlights from the last few months:

We donated books to every single student at seven more schools on St. Martin
We hosted more class visits to the Amuseum
We published Homemade Games and Toys of St. Martin, a book about the homemade toys that kids made themselves in the 1940s and 1950s before store-bought toys were available
We published Soualiga Colors, a nature coloring book in four languages
We published SoualiKulture, the first-ever activity book about St. Martin culture, that we created in partnership with the Soualiwomen Kultural Association

We wish you could be there at the Amuseum with us and hear the kids talk about how much they love the books and how they are using them! It is amazing to see them recognize local animals that they’ve learned about. And it’s fantastic to hear them say how much fun they are having at the Amuseum.

Thanks so much for your support! We love what we are doing together and we’re going to keep building on our successes. We’re starting the year off in style and have more big things to come!

We welcome donations of any size, one-time or recurring. Your help makes all of this possible!

Many thanks!!!

Amuseum school visit

SoualiKulture activity book

Soualiga Colors coloring book

Homemade Games and Toys of St. Martin

Homemade book launch

Links:

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