Museum’s summer day program makes learning fun

The three-legged race finds the brother-sister team, John and Megan Hurley, with a slight lead over Jayme Ramos and Katie Huntington, right, during outside activities at Geiser-Pollman Park on Thursday.

Sometimes younger can be better. Or more enthusiastic anyway.

Maggie Lindley is in her second year of leading the Baker Heritage Museum’s summer camp, and she enjoys working with the children, ages 7 to 10.

“I teach high school and it’s a little different,” Lindley said. “Like for instance we did charades and they had to act like animals. It would be hard to get high schoolers to do that.”

Lindley and her co-teacher Matt Banta, are both Baker High graduates who currently work as high school teachers at Sweet Home, Ore.

“I think it’s really fun,” she said. “Especially to see the kids get excited about learning. Their excitement is my favorite part.”

The camp runs one week in the summer from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. Each day is themed, along with the opening day that helps children get to know the museum and each year’s rotating exhibit.

This year Monday was getting to know the museum. Tuesday was “Rocks Rock” which included growing crystals, making model volcanoes, and making fossils in clay. Wednesday was “Wild about Wildlife” where they watched a video on animals, identified animals in the museum, and made animal masks. Thursday was “Oregon Trail Days,” and today is “Mining Day.”

This year the program has 13 children enrolled, which is down from last year’s 21.

This may be because the price went up from $25 to $35 Museum Director Chris Cantrell said. The price was changed because the grant that funds the program—from the Baker County Cultural Coalition, funded by the Oregon Cultural trust—was lower than previously.

This year’s grant was $400, as opposed to last year’s $775.

Also, this year they were only able to give scholarships to two students, as opposed to three students last year. If the program had full funding and enrollment of 25 they want to offer four scholarships.

While they hope to secure the larger amount again in the future so that they can charge less, and give more scholarships they are grateful for the funding they have received.

“We could not do this without such funding,” Cantrell said.

Lindley and Banta are the only paid workers in the program, but two volunteers have also been working to keep the camp running.

Anika Yates and Meagan Johnson volunteered for the week.

“It just seemed like a really fun idea to work with the kids,” Johnson said. She had already been volunteering at the museum when she heard about the camp.

She said her favorite part has been “getting to spend time with the younger people, because I really love kids.”

The museum has run the camp since 2008, minus one year when they didn’t have funding.

But even in that amount of time the camp has shown its value Cantrell believes.

“Some of these kids have been coming here every year since they were seven,” she said.

“They’re really a sweet group,” she said. “Every single day they get excited about what they’re learning.”

Having the camp also is part of the museum’s strategic plan that includes educating children.

Also, the children usually enjoy the museum so much that they come back with their families she said. Cantrell said that because children ages 12 and under are free, they often come back with their parents after the camp, or after a trip with the school.

“It is so cool the way they get into it,” she said.

This year’s grant was $400, as opposed to last year’s $775.

Also, this year they were only able to give scholarships to two students, as opposed to three students last year. If the program had full funding and enrollment of 25 they want to offer four scholarships.

While they hope to secure the larger amount again in the future so that they can give more scholarships, they are grateful for the funding they have received.

“We could not do this without such funding,” Cantrell said.

Lindley and Banta are the only paid workers in the program, but two volunteers have also been working to keep the camp running.

Anika Yates and Meagan Johnson volunteered for the week.

“It just seemed like a really fun idea to work with the kids,” Johnson said. She had already been volunteering at the museum when she heard about the camp.

She said her favorite part has been “getting to spend time with the younger people, because I really love kids.”

The museum has run the camp since 2008, minus one year when they didn’t have funding.

But even in that amount of time the camp has shown its value, Cantrell believes.

“Some of these kids have been coming here every year since they were seven,” she said.

“They’re really a sweet group,” she said. “Every single day they get excited about what they’re learning.”

Having the camp also is part of the museum’s strategic plan that includes educating children.

Also, the children usually enjoy the museum so much that they come back with their families, she said.

 Cantrell said that because children ages 12 and younger are free, they often come back with their parents after the camp, or after a trip with the school.

“It is so cool the way they get into it,” she said.