Young historians have been getting to know the heritage in their community with the Agassiz-Harrison Museum’s One Day Wonder series this month.
According to museum curator Lindsay Foreman, the idea behind the One Day Wonder events came from conversations with recreation programmer Kristen Patrice at the District of Kent in the fall.
“We had been discussing ways of engaging different age groups and also families in the community with heritage,” Foreman said in an email. “Kristen mentioned the One Day Wonders that she offers to the toddler age group at the CRCC (Community Recreation and Cultural Centre). We thought it would be a great idea to test the community by offering three unique One Day Wonder programs each focused on a different aspect of our community’s heritage.”
The programs, geared towards kids ages eight to 13 (those who are too old for many of the recreation centre’s programs but too young for a summer job), are designed to inspire them to ask questions about their community and see how the physical landscape has changed over time.
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So far, the museum has put on two One Day Wonders: Archaeology in the Agassiz-Harrison Valley (Aug. 6) and History in Your Backyard (Aug. 13).
“I think the kids have enjoyed the workshops so far,” Foreman said. “I try to balance hands-on and minds-on activities that are appropriate for both the younger and older end of the age range we are targeting. The participants have been enjoying the hands on components best, so maybe we will focus on those more.”
The museum will be holding its final One Day Wonder (Old Technology, New Technology) on Aug. 20 starting at 1 p.m. But Foreman hopes that won’t be the end of the programs.
“We hope to offer similar programs for ProD days, to individual classes, and possibly for Spring Break and next summer if there is interest in our community,” she said.
grace.kennedy@ahobserver.com
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