For the last month or so, my co-worker, Brittany, and I have been planning and organizing a history camp for kids at the Golden and District Museum. I know what many of you are thinking; “Golden has a museum”? In fact, yes we do, and since the government is so willing to hand out cash these days in the midst of the recession, we’re busier than ever. Next week we will be opening brand new exhibits, including electronic displays showing off our extensive photo records. Monday also marks the start of another week history camp, which will be running throughout the summer.

Last year the museum ran a pilot program of the history camp, a shortened version of the program we set up for this year. I’ve been told that last summer there were kids lined up at the fence of the museum watching what was going on because they were turned away from participating. This year we have space for everyone, and we’re hoping people take advantage of the opportunity because a lot of factors have come together to set this thing in motion. According to our research, there is virtually no other pioneer day camp in North America.

To prepare for the camp, Brittany and I first did a lot of research. We scoured the internet, raided the museum’s catalogues and made frequent trips to the library. We learned all about how people lived and what they ate. We saw what Golden used to look like when it first began. We also learned a lot of local lore, including sinuous murder stories and buried treasure, legends of Bigfoot in the Blaeberry, aliens at Mummery Glacier and other fascinations. We did some serious work as well, and whenever we had questions about something we simply asked Colleen (the curator) and she enlightened us.

Our next step was to practice making the crafts and food the kids will be doing in camp. This was the toughest part of our entire preparation period. We spent long days cooking delicious food in our authentic outdoor wood stove kitchen. Eating food was especially onerous. Long and arduous hours were employed colouring, cutting and pasting. And perhaps, on a sunny afternoon we could be found cataloguing the flora in the field out back of the museum to find what is edible, or collecting reeds at reflection lake to make a basket. We had help from some of the ladies in town who showed us how to spin yarn. Our co-workers at the museum, fellow summer students, with more experience have been great as well.

Finally, we were able to throw together a schedule for the kids. We set up the day to include activity class, craft class, food class and games class. For example, the average day will start out with some light chores around the museum, feeding chickens or washing yesterday’s dishes. First class is activity class, which involves a historical lesson followed by a simulation - such as gold rush, bartering or a nature walk. After, there is a food class where we make simple things, like bread, butter, jam, soup and dehydrated fruits. In craft class we make candle lanterns, bird houses and pioneer wagons. All these activities, and more, provide structure for the child’s day. They’re mildly educational and certainly, experiential.

The goal of the history camp is to offer the children who live in Golden an opportunity to appreciate what life was like in the not so distant past. Just the other day, a woman came into the museum who told us that she went to school in a one-room schoolhouse in Alberta, and her family actually used all the antiquated farm equipment we have on the property. History is not simply about the ancient past, it is about understanding our grandparents’ time and circumstances. Unplug the X-Box at home, and send the children out for a week of experimental learning.

~James Knoop

Special to The Star