Gateway To Peace Home Page

Mission and Vision

GPM believes that positive social change can be achieved by teaching children peacemaking skills at a young age, thus preparing the next generation to speak out against a culture of war and violence. As Mahatma Gandhi taught us, "if we wish to see real peace in the world, we will have to begin with the children."

It is also the vision of GPM that the next generation will utilize the lessons of peace to shape a social and political order aimed at attaining the ancient Hebrew concept of Shalom - wholeness, fulfillment and peace at the personal, social, societal and global/environmental levels. GPM believes that children must also be shown how making peaceful choices can enhance the quality of their lives and the strength, health and wellbeing of their communities. Simply stated, it is the GPM mission to help shape a society in which the culture of teaching peace prevails over the culture of violence.

Who We Are

Gateway to Peace is a traveling museum that teaches concepts of peace to children in kindergarten through fifth grade and their families. It is designed to be extremely flexible and can be used in one-day, two-day or four-day presentations. It can be experienced fully in two or more hours. It can also be adjusted to meet certain curriculum and time requirements. If we take the museum outside the St. Louis Metropolitan area, we request travel expenses be covered by the requesting/sponsoring organization. Otherwise, the museum is free of charge and supported by your donations. We developed the idea of a traveling museum in order to reach the greatest number of children. The exhibits travel packed in a trailer to the site, then are set up on location in a gym, classroom or whatever space is available.

The Gateway to Peace Museum is dedicated to pursuing and promoting peace. Through example, training others in peacemaking skills and participatory learning experiences, it recognizes and encourages the uniqueness and worth of all people. An exploration into the possibilities of peace is accomplished by combining a variety of individual and facilitated activities, presentations, learning centers, communication and guidance training, and hands-on interactive exhibits for children of all ages and culture. We use over 40 exhibits (learning centers) to present the four aspects of peace.

Peace for Me

These activities teach children to value their own strengths, abilities, and attributes, to express themselves in effective and positive ways, and to understand and explore their emotions. Peace for Me exhibits emphasize that personal peace grows with the recognition that every individual has value. Discovering what makes us unique and how to react to our feelings helps us understand ourselves and learn self control.

Ex. Talking Stick – children learn to use the art of Native American story telling to discuss their feelings regarding various issues affecting their daily lives and their communities. Each child has the opportunity to share his or her story, and then to listen to stories from the other group members.

Peace for Us

These learning centers teach cooperation, conflict resolution techniques and effective communication, along with the value of teamwork. Peace for Us activities apply the recognition of personal worth to fundamental daily relationships.

Ex. Bridge to Peace – children construct a 4-foot archway using giant cushioned blocks that display the steps of peaceful conflict resolution. Children must examine each step andplace it in position in order for the bridge to stand. Many right answers are possible.

Peace for Everyone

activities promote tolerance, demonstrate the value of diversity, give children a chance to explore the many-varied cultures, religions, and peoples of the world, and allow children to critically examine the differences and similarities among people of all genders, nationalities, races, cultures and religions.

Ex. Friendships are Diverse – using racially/ethnically diverse foam figures, children create “people” that look like them and people that look different from them. The children are then asked to discuss how it feels to be part of a group, or to be seen as an outsider. Children discuss the benefits of living in a community filled with all different kinds of people.

Peace for the Planet

These learning centers demonstrate the connection between a peaceful world and a healthy planet, and promote environmental stewardship. By learning about ecology and how humans impact their environment, children learn to care for it properly.

Ex. Water Matters – Children help to demonstrate how various kinds of pollution affect our ground water using a life-like eco-scape. Children then discuss ways to reduce the amount of pollution being released into the environment, and ways to clean up existing ground water pollution.