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Second graders learn about their ancestors
By Bob Robinson
GREENVILLE – “See how they dressed in those days?” asked the docent at
Garst Museum. “Annie was very proper and sophisticated, but when she
was performing her dresses were shorter. Some thought that was
scandalous.” Children were watching a video as part of their tour of
the Annie Oakley Center. They were warm and comfortable… and learning.
“Who doesn’t have a television in their home? How about electricity? Is
it warm at home? How many pairs of shoes do you have? Pants, shirts…
how do you wash your clothes?” A Darke County Parks district volunteer
was making comparisons to the lives of young people today to those 200
years ago. Children still had their coats on in the Prairie House, but
they were much warmer than they were a few minutes earlier… they also
were learning.
Woodland Elementary second graders got a unique education Feb. 25 and
27. This was their annual field trip event. Half of their day was spent
at Garst Museum, the other half at Shawnee Prairie. In both cases they
learned about history… history of their ancestors, history of the
settlement of Darke County and the Midwest. Each group visited both
places, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Classes were broken into groups of five or six at Garst, about a dozen
or so at the parks. At the museum they learned about Lowell Thomas,
Zachary Landsdowne, the Northwest Territory and the Crossroads to
Destiny, Annie Oakley, the Keepers of Freedom in the Military Room, how
people lived and worked 100 years ago in the Village Room and more.
Children got a special treat in the Military Room as their assistant
principal, Lisa Maher, showed off the uniform her father, Cpl. Michael
Maher, wore in Vietnam. In the Village Room they saw the teaching tools
used by their ancestors, including a real blackboard… something they’d
never seen before.
At Shawnee Prairie students learned how maple syrup was made… it was
cold, 22 degrees, but that didn’t dampen their enthusiasm as their
attention focused on Chris Supinger and other volunteers talking about
the maple syrup process and life around a campfire for the early
pioneers. The temperature was slightly warmer in the Prairie House as
they saw the differences between their lives and those of children
their age 200 years earlier.
Both Garst Museum and the Darke County Park District have special tours
for elementary age children and have hosted school districts throughout
the Miami Valley and eastern Indiana.
Published courtesy of The Early Bird
Additional photos at Community Events Photo Gallery
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