Educators

During Cabin Days, volunteers dressed as pioneers demonstrate trades and recreation common in the 1830s. Lively interaction often occurs as students, eager to learn about life “back then,” ask questions of the “pioneers” they visit. A blacksmith forges tools that were used in pioneer days and a woodsman shows how logs were cut. Students sit in rows as the “school marm” teaches lessons and a “doctor” speaks of the uses of leeches in treating fevers and other maladies. Students can walk through the Navarre Cabin to see the interior of the home built by Pierre Navarre, the first European to settle permanently in the area. In 2006, the Navarre Cabin underwent an extensive renovation, which included repair and replacement of original logs and reconstruction of windows. The program is designed for grades 3 and up.

Students gain insight into the importance of the fur trade in northern Indiana during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. They examine silver crosses and animal furs to learn how European explorers bartered with Native Americans for goods. A view of axes, guns, traps, and such household items as a bone needle used in making clothing teaches the self-sufficiency of the fur traders. Following an audio/visual presentation, classes board their buses to travel to Riverview Cemetery, the site of the 1679 landing of French explorer LaSalle. From that point, students walk the portage used by LaSalle and countless numbers of Native Americans, explorers, voyageurs, and fur traders as they journeyed through this area.

Civil War reenactors interact with students to give them insights and perspectives of Civil War soldiers’ lives. A presentation provides background information. The program is design for grades 3 and up. This program contains images of wartime violence and may not be suitable for all audiences.