Education
Year of the Child Exhibit
Kids and History Go Together!
At long last, we’re proud to announce that “Year of the Child” is underway. The exhibits have opened and the children are coming in to enjoy them.
The exhibits – a One-Room Schoolhouse, a General Store, and a Trading Post form a “mini-historical village” and are built at 3/4 scale – just right for the visiting children.
More to the point, JoAnne Spiller, our Museum Educator, has filled the village with a variety of artifacts, mostly reproductions that the kids can handle and use. It’s definitely hands-on!
Visiting kids are able to dress the part and they can trade pelts for frontier necessities, ring up sales of canned goods, play checkers in front of a pot-bellied stove, learn their abc’s in the school, try on old fashioned bi-focals, and read from McGuffey readers.
JoAnne has developed organized programs for large groups, and individual children and small groups are welcome as long as they’re accompanied by adults. “We had groups of just 2 or 3 kids stay for hours,” adds JoAnne. “The village is a great rainy day resource for kids.”
We have long wanted to expand our offerings to area school children and reach out to younger adults as well. The initial reaction has been enthusiastic.
We are also able to offer subsidies to Jefferson County school groups who are having trouble finding the funds for a bus and driver. Just call JoAnne for more information.
We view the village as a permanent addition to our gallery, but if interests eventually wane, the exhibits can be disassembled and set up in a variety of locations throughout the county, such as outlying schools, firehouses, or even shopping malls.
For further information, contact JoAnne (812) 265-2335 or e-mail JoAnne Spiller, Museum Educator.
