The Haldane School Foundation sponsored a fabulous Quadricentennial celebration, Mutual Strangers: Henry Hudson & the River that Discovered Him for students in grades K-5. The children were spellbound as they viewed the puppet play inspired by the 1609 voyage of the Half Moon under the command of Henry Hudson.

Based on the logbook of the ship's mate Robert Juet, and oral traditions of the Lenape and Mohican peoples, the story focuses on two boys. Teme Gwitet is the grandson of a Mohican chief living on the great river called Maheakanuk. John Hudson is the son of Henry and a crewmember aboard the Half Moon. The meeting of these two boys from two different worlds becomes a way to imagine what it was like when Native Americans and people from Europe were first making contact. The performance combined puppet figures, mask characters, live music, dialogue, and dance movement. Haldane School thanks the Haldane School Foundation for making this wonderful learning experience possible.