Cowtown Education Day 2015

In early October, we were able to go to the Education Day at Cowtown, a living history museum of Wichita from the years 1865-1880.  We met friends there and had a wonderful morning.

We stopped to listen to a cowboy talk about what it was like to ride the cattle trail.

Petting zoo.

Going to building school!

Getting questioned by the tall guy.

In the carpenter shop.

A pause to hear the fiddler.

Playing some old-fashioned games.

Three boys with guns, luckily only filled with water.

Catherine chose the bow and arrow.

Cowgirl Anne.

Gunnysack race!

Look, Daddy, Catherine is mowing!

Kids in jail.

Could they win the shell game?

Sweeping up the wheat.

Grinding the wheat.

Covered wagon!

Getting the dried field corn off the cobs.

Grinding and sifting the corn.

Joseph's turn.

The kids loved doing this and could have stayed there the rest of the day.

Heading down the railroad track.

Time to do some bowling.

Uncle Sam.

And we finished off our morning with lots of rides on the sack swing.

Field Trip to Old Cowtown Museum, Part 2

I think we spent about five hours at Cowtown.  The first 2 hours were a bit busy because there were a lot of schoolkids there, but after that it was much slower.  Here the kids all took a turn grinding wheat.  They really loved all of the hand-on activities.

There was a display with bushel baskets of wheat, corn, soy beans, oats, sorghum, and milo that the kids could touch and examine.  Then on the table behind were examples of products containing those items. 

Here is my friend, with all of her kids.  Doesn't she have her hands full?  Ha, ha, just kidding.  Between us, though, we have 9 children, so yes, we both have our hands full!

Anne plays in the wheat, while Anthony tries to get his little hand in there.

Of course, as soon as he got his little hands in there, he began "sowing" the seeds. 

One part of Cowtown is a farm, complete with house, outbuildings, and animals.  Here Anne got to be the assistant, pouring the corn into the grinder.

The kids intently watched the horse-powered feed grinder.  Did you notice that my friend was smart, dressing her children in the same color shirt?  I'll definitely have to remember that one!

Then back to the gunnysack swing, where Joseph got a turn.

And what a thrill to pet the miniature ponies!

Our field trip to Cowtown was a resounding success!   I had never been there before and it was much bigger and better than I had anticipated.  We will definitely have to go again next year.

Field Trip To Old Cowtown Museum, Part 1

A little over two weeks ago, we went to Education Day at Cowtown, a nearby living museum representing life in the 1870s.  We've been listening to the Little House on the Prairie series on audio CD for a while now, so it fit in perfectly.  We met up with another homeschooling family, which was a lot of fun. 

The kids got to sit in the desks in the one-room schoolhouse.  Just like at home! :)

They all stood in line waiting for their turn on the gunnysack swing. 

There was a display of Native American artifacts, as well as this little tepee, which the kids all loved.  Some of them made Native American necklaces and ground corn between stones.

Taking a break on the boardwalk.  We did not go into some of the buildings because there were so many and I had the stroller.  But they did get to try turning the handle on the table saw at the carpenter's shop and watch a lady braiding rugs at another shop.  We bypassed the undertaker's shop.  

We stopped to listen to these men playing the fiddle and harmonica.  A few of the songs we have sung in choir, which was especially fun for the kids.

In the area of games for kids, they got to shoot arrows, use slingshots (with real stones), throw beanbags, and spin a board wheel for a prize.

Most of the kids there could not shoot the arrows very far, but guess who got his arrow on the roof?

Catherine takes careful aim.

The bowling lane was set up in an alleyway and I think the kids would have stayed there for hours if we had let them.  At least one person had to stand at the end of the lane to reset the pins and send the balls back down the grooved rail.

Catherine and Anne were so excited to be able to pet this horse.  The lady seated there explained to them all about how women would ride sidesaddle.  See the "Bowling" sign knocked halfway down in the background?  Anthony did that.  He'll show up in the second half of the pictures.