Professor Watermelon on getting kids excited in history

<p dir="ltr">Feast on this: His name is <strong><a href= "https://www.facebook.com/chadwick.gillenwater/">Chadwick Gillenwater</a></strong>. But children across Indiana know him as bow-tied <a href= "http://www.professorwatermelon.com/"><strong>Professor</strong> <strong>Watermelon</strong></a>, the performance name he uses when he travels to schools, libraries, museums, summer camps and historic sites for presentations about history and writing. At various historic sites, Chadwick, a veteran teacher and school librarian, also offers workshops for children called <strong><a href= "http://www.professorwatermelon.com/watermelon-university-.html">Watermelon University</a></strong>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The historic sites include the <strong><a href= "https://rileymuseumhome.org/">James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home</a></strong> in the Lockerbie neighborhood of Indianapolis. It's also the setting for one of Chadwick's books for children, <strong><a href= "http://www.professorwatermelon.com/life-at-camp.html">George and the Goblin Hole</a></strong>, in which he uses a real historical figure (the butler at the home when Riley was in residence) along with a fictional character, a contemporary boy, to inspire interest in the Hoosier poet. In addition to his presentations as Professor Watermelon, Chadwick is a history reenactor who frequently portrays <strong><a href= "https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/james-whitcomb-riley">James Whitcomb Riley</a></strong> (in costume) at civic events and presentations to children.</p> <p dir="ltr">So why not tap Chadwick a k a Professor Watermelon for tips about how to excite children in history, and insights about what turns them off? When he joins Nelson as a studio guest, Professor Watermelon also will suggest some do's and don'ts about sparking an interest in writing among young Hoosiers.</p>