Kid Korner

I had a phone call early this morning from a young woman wondering about the Museum. She said she was a bit embarassed, but that they'd never been here before. That, I guess, means she lives here and has for awhile but has never been out to investigate the community's ... and her own ... heritage. Well, good for her for recognizing the need! I suspect she will be entertaining out of town guests and would like to do something worthwhile with them.

A problem for most heritage museums is a perception that exhibits, once in place, never change. Sigh ... we change our exhibits every year, sometimes more often; even displays that largely remain the same from one visit to the next often get updated. Artifacts on display now are rotated out for preservation purposes, but also to showcase other items in our collection. With more than 42,000 items in our collection, we can do this quite well ... visitors see about 4,000 - 6,000 items on any one trip.

Several years ago, the Museum undertook a year-long self-assessment to determine what people liked and disliked, what they wanted, and how we might go about providing for those wants and needs. Once we threw out the usual handful of "free candy!" and "dancing girls!" requests, the results were illuminating.

More hands-on activities for kids was among the chief requests. Your wish, our command. As we are now in Phase I of a three-phase construction project, one of the main things people will see when entering the Museum is a 'kids museum' interwoven throughout the whole. A three-foot tall cartoon 'Maury the Mule' will identify the hands-on stations. These will be positioned so that the next such station will be visible from the one a child is using.

My caller this morning will appreciate that ... she'll be bringing five kids under the age of 7!

Today's photos show the roof of the blockhouse for the entry ready to be hoisted into position and three aspects of 'Maury the Mule": Farmer Maury (in a wheat field across the road from the Museum), Soldier Maury (posing with Fort Walla Walla troops in downtown Walla Walla as they prepared to ship out during the Spanish-American War, ca. 1900), and Dapper Maury (in front of a 1908 version of our local Baker Boyer Bank).