Third Graders Visit the “Spirit of the Old West”

The third grade class went to the Blackhawk Museum on Thursday, May 23rd to explore the “Spirit of the Old West” exhibit. This exhibit is dedicated to presenting a balanced narrative of both Native Americans and American Settlers—depicting their challenges, their successes and failures, and their ways of life. Since the two main social studies units in third grade are about Native Americans and Pioneers, this was the perfect field experience to complement their studies.

They saw many of the animals that roamed the plains and mountains, many artifacts from Native Americans and Pioneers, a life size replica of a covered wagon, and a 150 foot long “miniature” diorama that tells the story of the settlement of the western plains. The third graders favorite activity was spinning the “wheel of death” to learn about the many ways the Pioneers might have died since life back then was much harder than it is today.

#SaklanExperiential