Today was a beautiful day, so the Campbell kids and I went to Shinnston, to see the fun that the traveling history of Jackson's Mill brought to the city park there.
Sara had fun dipping her own candle, and we learned that paraffin is a by product of crude oil. It was used for candles because, unlike the tallow (animal fat) and beeswax candles which smelled like food and were often eaten by rats and other varmints, the paraffin wasn't considered a tasty treat. Making candles was a tedious process, so they didn't want them to go to waste.
Iain and Sara both had fun using the rope making tool, which twisted the rope and could make a length of rope up to 50 feet long (which would take an hour of turning the hand crank!). Both of them were able to pick out their favorite colors and make a friendship bracelet.
The display also included several animal furs of native WV animals. I apparently didn't get a picture of the other ones, but here is a wolf and buffalo. They also had a black bear, rabbit, whitetail deer, beaver, mink, fisher, possum, skunk and a few more I can't remember.
For souvenirs, they had arrowheads made from stone available for $1.00 each. The above activities and display were free of charge, so this was basically a free field trip. Not a huge display, but a fun time anyway.
The park has a wonderful pool with a great water slide, so you could finish off your day with a little swimming, which we would have done if we had thought about it before we got there!
This beautiful park also has a couple of playgrounds, so my kids spent some time swinging when we were done with the history exhibit.
If you are interested, the exhibit will be at the Shinnston park again tomorrow, from 10-4.
Sara had fun dipping her own candle, and we learned that paraffin is a by product of crude oil. It was used for candles because, unlike the tallow (animal fat) and beeswax candles which smelled like food and were often eaten by rats and other varmints, the paraffin wasn't considered a tasty treat. Making candles was a tedious process, so they didn't want them to go to waste.
Iain and Sara both had fun using the rope making tool, which twisted the rope and could make a length of rope up to 50 feet long (which would take an hour of turning the hand crank!). Both of them were able to pick out their favorite colors and make a friendship bracelet.
The display also included several animal furs of native WV animals. I apparently didn't get a picture of the other ones, but here is a wolf and buffalo. They also had a black bear, rabbit, whitetail deer, beaver, mink, fisher, possum, skunk and a few more I can't remember.
For souvenirs, they had arrowheads made from stone available for $1.00 each. The above activities and display were free of charge, so this was basically a free field trip. Not a huge display, but a fun time anyway.
The park has a wonderful pool with a great water slide, so you could finish off your day with a little swimming, which we would have done if we had thought about it before we got there!
This beautiful park also has a couple of playgrounds, so my kids spent some time swinging when we were done with the history exhibit.
If you are interested, the exhibit will be at the Shinnston park again tomorrow, from 10-4.
That looks like so much fun! What a great day with your kids!
ReplyDelete