On Thursday June 1st, the Western Development Museum was alive with activity as over 250 students attended their annual Museum Day event. Students came from local schools in Moose Jaw and across the south of the province.
The event took place between 9am and 3pm and was the first time the event was held since 2019 due to the pandemic. At noon, lunch was provided for participants by the museum.
The museum was divided into a series of educational event stations, all of which took part in telling the history of our province. As the Moose Jaw branch of the Western Development Museum is focused on transportation, the overall theme was transportation-based discovery.
One event station that students found a big hit was the live animals. This station featured Rollo the horse and two baby sheep. Rollo works with the Carousel Riders horseback riding school in Moose Jaw and spent the day on a field trip at the museum.
Walking up to the museum, one or two students could be overheard saying: “I want a horse now!”
Grade 2 students of the Assiniboia Seventh Avenue School were accompanied by Jade Leucks, a parent chaperone, and were asked which stations they liked best. Bexley stated that “I like the sewing booth,” where event volunteers were giving sewing lessons.
Laura liked “the horse and the lamb,” as did Dex, who said his favorite part was “seeing the baby sheep.”
During the interview, Rollo the horse whinnied loudly in support of the horse station, confirming its popularity.
Iman and Gage liked the trains and wide selection of airplanes, both of which the Western Development Museum in Moose Jaw is well known for.
In the airplane quarter of the museum, volunteers from the military were teaching students how to make paper airplanes. This area was another big hit as students vied for the best picture of their planes in flight.
One of these stations was hosted by the Vintage Aircraft Restorers, who have restored or reconstructed aircraft that are currently in the museum. They work out of a replica aircraft hangar that is built in the exact same proportions as the first hangar built in Moose Jaw in 1920.
Jim Gushuliak with the Vintage Aircraft Restorers ran the booth in this area. Similar to other event stations, he guided the students around the displays and shared our history for the next generation to appreciate. Standing next to the Vickers Vedette CF-SAB, he talked about its restoration project. “This plane took twelve years to reconstruct,” he explained as he recalls working on the aircraft.
The event also featured a blacksmith, penny-farthings, old-style typewriters that students could try out, butter churning, and one table allowed students to try their hand at sewing.
Apart from the pandemic in 2020-2021, this is an annual event hosted by the Western Development Museum and provides a great educational experience. At the blacksmith booth, volunteers Mike and Don taught students about the Legend of Arthur and the Excalibur, which many had not yet heard of.
These lessons, along with hands-on experience in some areas, provide a great resource to help nurture the minds of students as they partake in their education.
If you would like to have your class participate in next year’s event, or to volunteer yourself at any of the event stations, you can reach out to Kathy or Shirley at 306-693-5989.
