60000,,o

o

n,

o

0

o

a*

on o a o o

0

a

onar.000000000000000

0000000060

00000000000000000000

0000800000000

a

00

4

0000000

a gu ide to s imchahs

6C00

I

seu,

)

/

Shalom Street allow children to have fun in a
Jewish environment.

Elizabeth Applebaum I Special to Celebrate!

Aryeh Silverstein and friends party at Shalom Street.

ost parents have a terrible habit of starting their
school projects at the last minute.
They know their son's re-creation of
Abraham's tent is due next week, or their daugh-
ter's 50-page Michigan report must be complete in a matter of
days. And yet these same parents (who, no matter what school
guidelines say about the importance of children "completing this
project on their own," know they will end up doing at least 95
percent of it) have neglected to begin the work. Because they
hate it.

M

And then there's Tine Abohesira:
Abohasira, of West Bloomfield, loves doing school projects with
her four children. She just finished helping her son make a pyra-
mid, and it was "so much fun!" She loves action figures, Lincoln
Logs and blocks. She loves children and making them happy.
So when Abohasira became Jewish family educator for the
Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit and Shalom

Street, where she is responsible for planning, organizing and
running children's birthday parties, it was even better than own-
ing Broadway and Park Place and having hotels on both.
Parents may not associate a museum with birthday parties,
but in fact, Abohasira says, Shalom Street can be the perfect
place for a celebration. Children will be in a Jewish setting, they
will create a project that's both fun and educational and they
can explore all the extras that Shalom Street has to offer.
It's not the place to run around like a total maniac — "This is
a museum, so there's no screaming and jumping," she says. But
it's a kid-friendly museum with places to explore, a huge arts-
and-crafts area and lots of toys.
Miriam Silverstein of West Bloomfield was in search of a party
place for her son Aryeh, who was turning 4. She had been to a
number of venues in the area for previous parties; this time she
wanted "to support the Jewish community."

Museum Party on page C34

celebrate! I

March 2011

C33