Museum offers ‘Hands-On History’ activities for kids

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

For many young kids, history is just another subject in school, requiring them to memorize the names of long-dead people and the dates in which they did something notable. The Bonner County History Museum is hoping to change that opinion with Hands-On History, an ongoing program aimed at allowing children the opportunity to connect with the past in an intuitive, fun way. 

Hands-On History is a part of the museum’s monthly Free First Saturday, when patrons can enter the museum free of charge. This month’s event falls on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

The program is spearheaded by Carlie Johanson, a mother of young children and a lover of history.

“One of the problems of walking into a museum with young children is that they immediately want to touch everything,” Johanson said.

That led her to exploring how to create a culture in the museum where little ones were not only welcome, but there was a space and place provided for them to play.

The program launched last summer with outside activities like digging in sandpits for artifacts, as well as a mud kitchen where kids could pretend to be early settlers and make fake mud recipes, picking ingredients from the arboretum.

“It was imaginative play that gave kids a glimpse at what it would be like if you lived here before houses and grocery stores,” Johanson said.

When winter came, Johanson thought she’d put the program on hold until next summer, but the historical society staff told her they were excited to try the program inside the museum.

“We’re going to have really fun activities, some even geared for kids as young as 2 years old,” she said.

At the upcoming Hands-On History, there will be a station set up with white Play-Doh for children to create snowy landscapes. Another station will be dedicated to creating Swedish Dala horses, a traditional Nordic Christmastime ornament.

“We had a lot of Swedish settlers in this region, so this would have been an ornament kids in Sandpoint would have made,” she said. 

Finally, a hollowed-out tree trunk made by Lake Pend Oreille Repertory Theatre will be transformed into a miniature scene, featuring wooden train sets for young kids to imagine train scenarios.

“We’re going to connect it to how trains are a really important part of Sandpoint history,” Johanson said. “They’ll get to wear conductor hats and have free play, while we add little tidbits of Sandpoint history.”

All are invited to participate in Hands-On History free of charge.

“Come spend an hour or 15 minutes,” Johanson said. “Come with your family and check it out.”