The founders of BIJAC envisioned an opportunity to share their story to illustrate past injustices and use it as a teachable moment to effect positive change: let it not happen again. To that end, many of our members, in collaboration with the Bainbridge Island community, have worked tirelessly to create educational programs that share our story at all levels, reaching K-12 through university students and adult continuing education. Examples of these programs include:

Leaving our Island – Sakai Intermediate School – Contact: Joanna VanderStoep
As part of the 6th grade curriculum students conduct research, read from a selection of books, and participate in a Q&A session with a panel of survivors and their families to learn about their experience during the exclusion, life in the concentration camps, and life after returning. This annual program has been in place for more than 15 years and has become a highly successful and valued part of the Bainbridge Island School District curriculum.

Clarence Moriwaki leads school tour at the Memorial

School Tours – Contact: info@bijac.org
Each year more than 50 school groups visit the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum and the Exclusion Memorial for a guided tour and history lesson. Groups are hosted by our trained docents, who provide tours tailored appropriately to various age groups. To request a tour, visit: https://bijac.org/request-a-tour/.

Only What We Can Carry – EduCulture – Contact: Jon Garfunkel
As the Japanese were forcibly removed from their homes on Bainbridge Island, they were told to bring "only what we can carry." Among various programs OWWCC offers a Summer Institute, an intensive three day program offering educators an opportunity to explore landscapes and lessons of exclusion, inclusion, citizenship and community surrounding WWII and the Japanese American Internment.

NPS Jr. Ranger Program – BI Exclusion Memorial – Contact: info@bijac.org
Be a junior ranger! Children and adults can earn a junior ranger badge by visiting the Exclusion Memorial, exploring the story wall, and learning the history of the exclusion with ranger Kevin Mahe or one of his assistants. The Exclusion Memorial is staffed during the summer.

Lilly Kodama and Kathy Marshall teach at the Historical Museum

Additional resources to help support your lesson plan are provided under the EDUCATION menu. There you will find Films, Books, Historical Photos, Oral Histories and their Narrators, and a description of our traveling Photo Exhibit. Please feel free to contact us at info@bijac.org for more information regarding our educational resources.