Posted by Paul Elsley
Yet another Rotary adventure is Adventures in History, the newest of the group. Adventures in History was begun in 2012 as a pilot project in Kingston, Ontario, sponsored originally by a couple of keen members of the Cataraqui-Kingston Rotary club. The idea behind it was to promote to youth, in an experiential way, the interesting and well established history of Kingston and the surrounding area in a unique format. In its second year, the Rotary Club of Kingston and the Kingston Frontenac club became partners. Students were recruited from local high schools to visit and listen to organizations promoting history. The goal was to see which of the organizations made the best case; at that point, the students would determine which organization or organizations would receive funding (from $100,000 imaginary “Rotary bucks”). After the awarding of the grant(s), students and organization delegates held a round table discussion which served to advance the cause of the organizations involved and further engage the students in real and practical applications of history.
 
This year, for the first time, the opportunity to participate in the program is being extended to other clubs in the district. Clubs interested would sponsor a student from their region at a cost of $100. The Kingston clubs will provide billets for out-of-town participants. The theme corresponds to the bicentennial of the birth of Sir John A. Macdonald and ties in nicely with other celebrations of the occasion. Site visits will include Bellevue House, Fort Henry, the Cataraqui Cemetery, city hall and the SirJohnA2015.ca headquarters. Adventures in History will run from October 15 to October 17, 2014. Further information can be found by going to www.adventuresinHistory.ca