May the Force Be With You

Hello, young Jedis! Over 4,000 people came to Haunted Happenings at Shelburne Museum on Sunday to trick-or-treat while decked out in their most creative costumes. To go along with our sci-fi theme, I decided to dress as my favorite Star Wars character, the ever-spunky Princess Leia!

Here I am with Leia.

Young participants had the chance to wield a lightsaber and try to master the Force.

Minnie Mouse trick-or-treats with Han Solo.

Swedish Fish? Don't mind if I do.

Things got a little scary when Darth Vader showed up. Beware the Dark Side!

What are you going to be for Halloween? Leave a comment and let me know! Or, better yet, send me a picture of your costume at educationinterns@shelburnemuseum.org.

Season of Inspiration

I can't believe that the end of the season is coming up so soon!  Sunday, October 28 is the final day of the 2012 season. What a spectacular season of special exhibits, events, and visitors Shelburne Museum has had! 

Keeper for a Day

Hello, Webby here! This week I'm exploring the Lighthouse, a favorite spot for family visitors. It is over 140 years old and spent most of its life in the middle of Lake Champlain, guiding boats around dangerous reefs as they sailed into Burlington Bay.

The light keeper's most important job was to keep the oil lamp at the very top of the lighthouse burning all the time. He also rang a fog bell when the mist rolled in and ship captains found it hard to see. 

We know that the children of lighthouse keepers sometimes had to perform these duties. One of my favorite books, The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter by Arielle North Olson, tells the story of a young girl named Miranda who kept the lamp going during a blizzard! You can find it in Owl Cottage.

Here I am, climbing all 43 stairs from the first floor to the lamp room. Think about how many times the lighthouse keeper had to do this everyday. Phew!

If you go to the Lighthouse, be sure to check out our display about Champ, the Lake Champlain sea monster. Do you think Champ is real? Leave a comment and let us know.

Lastly, don't forget to stop by my Dive In station on the second floor to learn more about the Lighthouse and do a fun activity!

Fall In

Hello down there! Hold, on I'm coming down!

That's much better.  I love playing in freshly fallen leaves.  It's easy for me to hide among the leaves, because they match my feathers.

Can you see me? 

Look at all the vibrant reds, oranges, and greens on this tree!  Things are changing so quickly here on the Museum's grounds.  To celebrate the arrival of fall, I searched for objects in the collection that remind me of the season.  Here's what I found!



The Garden of Eden, 1865. Erastus Salisbury Field  27.1.2-86
Stagecoach Inn

How could this painting of the Garden of Eden remind me of fall?  Look closer!

What's red, juicy sweet, and perfect to pick in the fall?  Apples, absolutely! 

Z is for Zonie, 1996.  Patty Yoder  2010-98.08
Hat & Fragrance Building, Yoder Gallery

It's also not fall without pumpkins!  What image do you think a sheep would carve for her jack o'lantern?

Can you believe this is a rug?  Patty Yoder was a rug hooker who spent many hours hand dying yarn made from the wool of her own sheep.  How many different colors of yarn can you spot in this picture? 

Spinning Wheel.  Collected 1974 by William Paley
Variety Unit

How come in the fall one can just never get enough leaves?  Here is a trivet, an object placed between a serving plate and a dining room table, which I discovered only today in the Variety Unit.

Boy, 1900.  Simon & Halbig (Head), Heinrich Handwerck (Body).  1957-545-1
Variety Unit, Doll Unit (2nd Floor)

This boy is obviously ready to enjoy an evening on the town.  But he knows well to dress warmly with a hat and a big overcoat while out on a cold and crisp fall night.

Socks
General Store

With all the cold and wet days, I'm sure you have put away your sandals for the year! Do you wear socks and boots like the ones at the General Store to keep your feet warm and dry?

Shoes
General Store

Of course, not all creatures like the cold.  My friend, the Canada goose, flies south with her flock in the autumn months to where food and warmer temperatures are easy to find.  Some Canada geese have been known to fly as far south as Mexico!



Canada Goose, 1918.  Charles Schoenheider, Sr.  FD 2-17, 1986-42

Of course I had to take a picture of the Schoolhouse!  Did you know that American schools in the 1800s gave kids a summer break just like we have today?  Only back then kids were not off having fun -- they were helping their parents raise and harvest the yearly crops or perhaps caring for the animals on the farm. 

Schoolhouse

When summer work was completed, parents sent their children back to school. If you were a kid living in the 1800s do you think you would have rather wanted to work on the farm or be in school? 

Are there any objects in the Shelburne Museum's collection that remind you of the fall?  Let me know what it is by emailing me at educationinterns@shelburnemuseum.org for a chance to appear on my blog.  Come see the museum before it closes for the season on Sunday, October 28!

Up, Up, and Away!

Most ducks say fall has arrived when temperatures drop, days grow shorter, and tree leaves start to change color.  But to me, fall is really here when Shelburne Museum has been taken over by school kids!  Shelburne Museum’s Passport to Learning program has 12 fun and exciting workshops around the grounds for school kids in Kindergarten through 8^th grade.  For the next few weeks, kids from all over Vermont and its surrounding states will journey here to experience as many workshops as they can during their visit.

Passport to Learning’s newest workshop is called “Blast Off!” which is based on Webb Gallery’s exhibit, TimeMachines:  Robots, Rockets, and Steampunk.

A coin-operated rocket ride you can see on exhibit in the
Time Machines:  Robots, Rockets, and Steampunk show at Webb Gallery!

After checking out the exhibit’s cool collection of toy rockets from the 1900s, kids head outside to test out their own rockets!   

Wait a minute – what is a rocket?  Rockets fly in the air, but certainly not like a duck!  Rockets are big tubes that are filled with two different types of fuel.  When these fuels are set on fire they are pushed out from the bottom of the tube at a very fast speed, which causes the rocket to lift off into the air.   Huge rockets are powerful enough to take shuttles, satellites, and rovers into space, just like this rocket that sent the Curiosity Rover to Mars!

Atlas V-541 rocket's lifting off into space carrying the Mars Curiosity Rover to Mars.
 Click on here to see some more amazing pictures of this powerful rocket!

Want to make a fun little rocket at home?  Here’s what you’ll need:

·         Film Canister

(If you don't have one lying around,

you can purchase a small pack here.)

·         Alka Seltzer Tablets

·         Water

·         Board or Mat (to use as a launch pad)

You’ll definitely want to be outside for your rocket launch, only because it does get messy and you certainly don’t want any crashes into a ceiling!

Simply fill the film canister with a little bit of water (do not fill it more than half).  Next, drop one Alka Seltzer tablet into the canister and quickly snap on the lid.  As fast you can, give the canister a small shake and put it on the launch pad with the lid side facing down on the mat.  You’ll only have a second or two before liftoff, so quickly move away from the rocket!

It's filling up with forceful gas!

Just like the real rockets that go into space, your film canister rocket is lifted off the ground by the gasses created by the Alka Seltzer tablet mixing with the water.  Pretty neat stuff!

How far did your rocket go?  What changes would you make to the rocket to make it go even higher? If you could design your own small rocket, what materials would you use?  Tell me about your experiments and results by emailing me at educationinterns@shelburnemuseum.org and for a chance to appear on my blog!