Over the course of the summer, we’ve been hosting a group of children from Camp Discovery! Every Wednesday we have welcomed them off the bus and have an exciting few hours planned for them. We have been able to have two rounds of 5-week programs since June and we’ll end just before the start of school. With the help of Camp Discovery Founder, Dave Sugarbaker, we planned an itinerary for each week that would provide the children with a wide range of education available at KYGMC.
Each round kicked off with a fun self-portrait activity in our ‘Art of Portraiture exhibit’. Artist, Dree Boggs and curator, Tara Machamer provided a brief history of the portraits and important symbolism. After learning about the history, campers were provided materials and instruction to create their very own self portrait.
For week two, we invited local pioneer experts Mark and Missy Humphries to share their knowledge with the children! We spent a warm summer morning log sawing, tomahawk throwing and black powder shooting in the pioneer graveyard. Mark also displayed various tools and personal items a pioneer would have carried with them while out on the frontier.
Week three, the children toured the Research Library with Cay Chamness! It wouldn’t be a trip to the Genealogical and Historical Research Library without starting work on your family tree, and that’s exactly what our campers did! Each camper received their very own workbook and got a jump start on their family history.
On the fourth week, campers dove into the world of miniatures. After a private tour with miniature expert and collector, Kaye Browning, campers got to try their hand at creating their own miniature. Campers were provided photos staff had taken during their time with us, with the help of Kaye and Tracy Douglas, they were able to craft a 1/12th scale photo album to take home!
To wrap up our time with the campers, they spent their last day with our curators. Curators Marla Toncray and Tara Machemer walked them through our current ‘America 250 at KYGMC’ exhibit, showing them how the story unfolds through the work of curation. Putting what they’d learned to use, campers were given their own flatboat to pack! A printed version of the primitive transportation and supplies were given to show campers how an early Maysville settler traveled. Once they packed their boats, they were then asked to properly label each item to learn how they may be displayed in an exhibit.
Our mission of education and preservation is at the heart of everything we do and spending part of our summer collaborating with Camp Discovery was a great way to hold true to that mission. Thank you to Jessica Johnson, Camp Discovery Director, camp counselors, KYGMC staff and volunteers, and everyone that had a hand in making this program successful.