“History and Me” Day Camp at Nishna Heritage Museum

Nishna Heritage Museum in Oakland

by Tina Bakehouse, Outreach & Communication Coordinator, Golden Hills RC&D
 
As children, we use our imagination.  Playing school or cowboys and Indians or dressing up as movie stars.  Or, in the 1980s we may have tuned into the television series Little House on the Prairie, highlighting Laura Ingles Wilder’s life.  These moments in time can be experienced this summer at the Nishna Heritage Museum in Oakland, Iowa during their summer day camp series.  Escape back in time and learn about the people, the landscape, and Iowa’s past, in five different, enrichment camps. Nishna Heritage Museum is partnering with Golden Hills RC&D to provide these day camps for kindergarten to six graders, each Tuesday in June and the first Tuesday in July from 9:00-10:30 am.  Below is day camp schedule:
 
Tuesday, June 5:  Original Iowans
View the Native American collection  and learn about indigenous people through hands-on activities.
 
Tuesday, June 12: Early Settlers and Tool Time
Imagine you’re a pioneer. See a thrashing machine and old tool room.  Even churn and taste homemade butter!
 
Tuesday, June 19: No Stop Shop…General Store and Vintage Fashion
Reenact the “good ‘ol days” of shared phone lines, a butcher store, and more.  Have a tea party dressed in vintage attire.
 
Tuesday, June 26: Life before Legos
Play old-fashioned games, like croquet, marbles, and more.
 
Tuesday, July 3: One-room school house
Travel to an old, one-room school house to role-play a day in the life of Laura Ingles Wilder.  Even enjoy a game of softball outdoors!
 
Each day camp provides hands-on learning opportunities, rich in Iowa history and culture. Come join in the fun.  Cost for the each camp is $10 or $25 for all five camps.  And, for two children, is $25.  As Gayle Strickland, volunteer and member of Oakland Historical Society believes, “Learn from yesterday.  Live for today.  Hope for tomorrow.”  Strickland, along with other volunteers, will inspire children to think, feel, and learn about the past and how it influences the future.

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Zack Jones' mural on the side of the Nishna Heritage Museum in historic downtown Oakland