Bermuda Maritime Museum has launched a free children's educational booklet showcasing the historic Graham Foster mural at Commissioner's House, Dockyard.

'A Children's Guide to the Hall of History' tells how Mr. Foster created the 1,000-square foot mural and highlights sections of the artwork illustrating Bermuda's entire human history from the 1500s to today.

The 24-page booklet will be distributed free to all Bermuda's primary schools over the next five years at the start of every school year, as well as to every child who independently visits the museum mural.

"We are proud to partner with our sponsors to produce what we hope will be a very useful resource for schools, teachers, parents and children who visit the mural at Bermuda Maritime Museum," said museum executive director Dr. Edward Harris.

"We invite school groups and individual families to come and visit this unprecedented Bermudian artwork in this, the Island's 400th anniversary year."

The booklet, written by Rosemary Jones and designed by Paul Shapiro, of Brimstone Media, in liaison with BMM staff, briefly describes how Mr. Foster spent three-and-a-half years painting the towering mural, and features sections of the mural that tell Bermuda's story.

The main sponsors are HSBC Bermuda and the OIL Group of Companies, with support from the International Women's Club of Bermuda. HSBC Bermuda chief executive officer Philip Butterfield said: "Our commitment to education is founded on enhancing our children's understanding and appreciation of our Island's heritage."

Gail Pantry of OIL said: "The mural itself is an amazing work of art, of which all of us can be proud; by capturing elements of this in the booklet for children, it is our hope it will inspire children, their families and friends to visit Commissioner's House and enjoy the mural in its entirety."

Primary schools that would like to schedule class field trips to visit the mural should contact BMM curator Elena Strong by email at curator@bmm.bm.