Carver County Historical Society to offer summer camps

Eco-historians took a field trip to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska.

Eco-historians are Tiffi Biorn, Rockford; Dain Biorn, Rockford; Raven Renee Concagh Blount, Waconia; Emmylou Barden, Waconia; Lance Miller, Chaska; Nicole Heinen, Victoria; Megan Girard, Waconia; Sami Braun, Chaska; Tyler Fisher, Carver; and Sterling Sauter, Carver.

The Carver County Historical Society has announced its schedule of summer history camps for 2009.History camps are an inexpensive and fun learning experience for elementary school-aged children. They provide a wonderful creative outlet and greatly increase the students’ historical curiosity.

Short descriptions of the camps are listed below. The camps are offered at various locations throughout Carver County. Registration ends one week before camp start date, and camps are filled on first-come, first-served basis.

The Carver County Historical Society reserves the right to cancel if fewer than five students register. Financial assistance for families in need is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

More information is available about each of the camps at www.carvercountyhistoricalsociety.org/history_camps.htm. Older students and parents are encouraged to join their siblings/children as volunteers.
To register for a camp, for more information, or to apply for financial assistance, call Erin Anderson at (952) 442-4234 or e-mail eranderson@co.carver.mn.us.

Mysteries in History Day Camp
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work in a museum? Try your hand at being a Junior Curator! (A curator takes care of objects in the museum’s collection.) Preserve and protect historic objects, explore your family history, imagine creating an exhibit, take a behind-the-scenes tour, and discover how to preserve things of your own! We’ll even take an adventure to an archaeology dig site!
Date: June 15-19
Time: 1-4 p.m.
Location: Carver County Historical Society, 555 West First Street, Waconia
Ages: For students in grades 3, 4, and 5
Registration fee: $20/CCHS members; $30/non-members
A Mini-Camp for Mini Curators
Discover what life is like in the day of a curator at this abbreviated Junior Curator camp. Students will have an opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum, learn basic preservation skills, and explore an archaeology dig site!
Date: July 13-15
Time: 9 a.m.-noon
Location: Carver County Historical Society, 555 West First Street, Waconia
Ages: For students grades 1 and 2
Registration fee: $5/CCHS members; $15/non-members
Wagons & Cabins: Settling Carver County
Spend a whole week in a real pioneer log building! Imagine homesteading 150 years ago and discover pioneer life – from going to the bathroom to growing the crops. Students will experience a day in a one-room schoolhouse, learn housekeeping skills such as butter-making and cooking over an open fire, and spend a day at Lake Waconia fishing with old-fashioned cane poles.
Date: July 27–31
Ages/time: Grades K-2, 9 a.m.-noon; and Grades 3-5, 1-4 p.m.
Location: Carver County Historical Society, 555 West First Street, Waconia
Registration fee: $20/CCHS members; $30/non-members
Eco-History Day Camp
Want to make a difference? Come to Eco-History Camp at the Carver County Historical Society. Students will discover what they can do to keep the environment healthy, learn about eco-history through trips, speakers, and hands-on activities; explore the past through oral history, and help create an exhibit for the Carver County Fair.
Campers take field trips to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the Carver County Environmental Center, and Carver County’s enormous compost pile. Application is required.
Dates/locations: June 8-11, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia; June 22-25, Chaska Community Center; July 6-9, Watertown Community Center; July 20-23, Baylor Park, Norwood-Young America
Ages: For students grades 3, 4, and 5
Registration fee: Free, but application is required. Application can be obtained by calling (952) 442-4234 or visiting www.carvercountyhistoricalsociety.org/history_camps.htm.
About the CCHS
Established in 1940, the Carver County Historical Society is a private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to collect, preserve and interpret the history of Carver County. The museum houses five local history galleries, a veterans’ exhibit and a local history and genealogy library. There is no charge to visit the museum or library.