The Olive Pressing Workshop is a hands-on exhibit that demonstrates, with the help of participants, the process the Maccabees used to refine olive oil for the Golden Menorah in the Chanukah story. Students hand-press the fresh olives in an old fashioned press, then purify the olive juice with a modern centrifuge to recover pure olive oil.
While participating in the process, the children learn about the story of Chanukah, the Bais Hamikdosh and the evil intentions of the Greeks.
Participants fashion wicks out of cotton, and when the oil is purified, light the menorah. |
