Independence360 adults and staff grabbed their passports in January and set off to explore the world.

Virtually of course, but still full of adventure!

Independence360’s approach to adult services is to provide participants with opportunities on campus and out in the community to expand their interests, knowledge and skills. This winter and spring, a “passport project” was launched as a way to learn about world cultures and to enjoy working together with a common goals. And to have fun!

To guide the project, each month centered on a different continent, plus one month focusing on non-majority culture, indigenous, tribal, or influential culture.

Working in groups, the adults chose countries from that month’s continent and put their skills together to gather information on their chosen country; to create a visual of what they learned; and at the end of the month they celebrated with appetizers and snacks based on the country’s native dishes.

Adults focused on countries that appealed to them – from the sunny skies of Greece to the famous markets in Morrocco. The staff member assigned to one group created a film interviewing her husband, a native of Poland, giving her group first-person descriptions of living in the country.

Researching the country’s history, language, culture, food, as well as its influential figures and more, adults then created a collage of their discoveries that was shown off to other groups at the end of the month.

There was a special guest participant, too. Lynda Sun Lee, a member of the Spectrum360 Board of Directors, made a visit to the Whippany campus to make a presentation on her Chinese culture to all of the I360 groups, sharing information about language, geography, music, family values, food and China’s history. Lynda also brought popular Chinese food items such as spring rolls, lo mein noodles and fried rice that were much enjoyed by all!

For each country they “visited,” adults used blank passports and created their own stamps of the countries they researched. The project was a successful journey for everyone. We can’t wait to see what the program embarks on next.