YO, KIDS!

In a season full of fun, yesterday was one of the most enjoyable days we have at Fort Walla Walla Museum: Explorers Kid Camp. The day-camp is designed to promote hands-on engagement with aspects of the region's heritage, in this case related to Lewis & Clark and the Indian people they met in the mid-Columbia basin.

We had 66 kids enroll this year and it's a situation where 'the more,the merrier' applies ... up to a point. We do have a limited number of spots available, to ensure a small-group atmosphere. After registration first thing in the morning (8:30 am), the kids are divided into seven groups, each assigned an adult 'shepherd' to help make sure kids move to the right station, stay on task, don't poke their neighbors (too much), and so forth.

The activity stations are each led by qualified adults. This year we featured a bow-and-arrow safety activity led by the folks from Walla Walla's Martin Archery and the 'Drilling with the 1800s Military' was conducted by a couple of gents from the local chapter of the Washington National Guard. The other stations are led by elementary school teachers recruited by our Camp Director Marcie Anderson, herself an experienced 3rd grade teacher at Davis Elementary School in College Place.

We work hard at updating the camp each year, so that kids who are interested may participate in new activities throughout the three-year span of the camp's age acceptance (9-11, although we take some 8-year olds whose birthdays will happen soon enough to keep them from being too much younger than the older kids). That age factor isn't simply random. In this part of the world, Washington 4th-graders and Oregon 3rd graders school curriculae require them to learn about regional history. The camps, along with our admission-free school tour program, allows kids a good opportunity to get in touch with the heritage that is rightfully theirs ... whether their families have been here seven generations, or whether they moved to town yesterday.

One down, one to go. We have our Pioneer Kids Camp scheduled for July 21. Organized in like fashion, kids can get hands-on experience in a blacksmith shop, panning for 'gold,' and 'building a log cabin.' At day's end, they receive a certificate of achievement, ice cream, and a chance to meet historical Hudson's Bay Trader William McBean, as portrayed by Rich Monacelli. Kids get the official camp T-shirt, pizza lunch, and plenty of liquids throughout the day to ensure hydration. As with Explorers Camp, we'll have a nurse on the grounds to deal with whatever medical situations arise.

Construction update ... the vapor barrier was being applied as I rolled in this morning. the progress is incredible! I'm told that we'll see drywall in about three weeks.

Today's pics include several from Explorer's Kids Camp and today's vapor barrier installation. The vid is from the 'Drilling with the 1800s military' station. Cheers!