LAKE COUNTY– “Well, then?where is the Old West?” The question came from the back of a third grade classroom, addressed to Friends of the Lake County Museum (FLCM) volunteers.
“We knew by the determination in his voice that if we could hand him a map, he was ready to pack up his bag and head out,” said Marcia Sanderson, FLCM program coordinator.
The group is expanding its Educational Outreach Program and hoping to recruit more volunteers to help lead its elementary school program. It”s a 90-minute program in which three volunteers lead students in discussion about Lake County Pomo and pioneer history.
After breaking into small groups, children rotate through three work stations. One focuses on transportation, with photographs of horses and buggies, steam and sail boats and barges on display. Another hands-on station exhibits basket weaving and grinding acorns using mortar and pestle. “They pound the acorns as we discuss how they processed them for food,” Sanderson said. “Everything we teach fits perfectly into the curriculum. In third grade, they learn local history and fourth grade its California history.”
The last station focuses on Pomo and pioneer regalia, money and trade. “The kids get to use a pump drill to make shell beads. And we play pioneer and Pomo games to compare and contrast. They learn how both Pomo and pioneer children helped in their families. They really pick up on that,” Sanderson said.
A key element of the classroom program is an essay assignment that prompts children to draw a picture and write about riding either in a tule boat or stage coach. “Those stories when we get them back are incredible. They all go into a binder and they are there for the kids when they come to the museum,” Sanderson said.
The second part of the program involves a classroom field trip to the Lakeport Historic Courthouse Museum that involves a tour and more activities. “We hand out student membership cards just before they leave. They love it,” Sanderson said.
On Thursday, March 6 at 10:30 a.m. the Outreach Team will give an overview of the program, including a tour of the museum and a display of items used in the classroom. The group is looking for at least six new volunteers to help expand the 18-month-old program.
Those who decide to join the team will receive 15 hours of training led by Sanderson, a former K-12 teacher who has taught classes for the National Park Service, the Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Sacramento and Clear Lake State Park in Kelseyville. “There will be music in your ears when you hear a teacher say, ?Thank you. You”ve done a wonderful job. I”ll be calling you again next year,”” Sanderson said.
For more information, please contact the museum at (707) 263-4555.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com.
