School Programs > More Museum Offerings

Travelling Memory Trunk (Companion to “Beginnings”)

Content - The Travelling Memory Trunk complements the “Beginnings” local history presentation. It contains reproductions of archival documents of local interest, along with turn-of-the-century pioneer objects chosen from the museum’s collection. Included are household and personal items, photographs, maps, and newspapers, all providing a tangible link with local pioneer life and history.

To Borrow

- Order through the School District #22 Resource Center
- Loan period of two to three weeks
- Please record number of students using trunk
- Report any repairs needed
- Return to Resource Center when finished

“Wayside Press” Print Shop Demos

Content - This exhibit features a fully operational Linotype machine from Wayside Press, one of the last of it’s kind. There is also a working proof press, and the museum is pleased to offer printing demonstrations courtesy of retired Wayside Press printer, Mr. Bodo Niedballa. Bodo will set up lines of type, print a proof copy and finished copies, and melt down the lines of type for reuse. This has proven very popular with students, and they each receive a personalized sheet, hot off the press, at the end of the demonstration.

Length - Approximately 30 minutes

Natural History Discovery Tour

Content – Discovery Tour sheets focus attention on the interesting variety of animals and plants to be found in our local forest, grassland and lakeshore habitats. These environments have been skillfully replicated in the museum’s natural history area. Students using the Discovery Tour sheets work with clues and word games to reveal amazing facts about the natural world surrounding them.

Length - Approximately 20 minutes per sheet (There are three double-sided sheets, one focusing on each habitat.)

Prehistoric Creatures From This Area

Content – Locally discovered fossils such as giant woolly mammoth teeth and pre-historic bison horns and skull, plus a life-sized painting of “Wolfurd” the Woolly Mammoth, help to introduce students to the world of post ice-age creatures that once roamed this area.

Length - 20 minutes

Captain Shorts’ Steam Engine Demonstrations

In the early 1880’s Captain Thomas Dolman Shorts built a large rowboat with a small sail, and christened it the “Ruth Shorts” after his mother. He then began a transport and delivery business, travelling the length of Okanagan Lake. The round trip from Okanagan Landing to Penticton and back took about nine days, covering about 15 miles per day. Captain Shorts and his passengers camped on the lakeshore at night, hunting deer for food. By 1886, the finances were in place for the Captain to build a new boat, powered by a steam engine. Unfortunately this boat had many misadventures, and the engine was transferred to a succession of other vessels. Eventually it saw service in a local sawmill before coming to its final resting-place in the Vernon Museum. Recently overhauled, the engine has once again become operational, and is now one of the highlights of our museum tours.

Unguided Museum Visits

Groups wishing to visit the museum without arranging a guided tour are also encouraged to phone ahead and book a time, in order to avoid a possible conflict with other groups. Discovery Tour sheets can be made available, on request, for unguided tour groups.

Bookings

Phone: 542–3142
Fax: 542-5358
Contact Person: Mrs. Barbara Bell
Education / Interpretation Co-ordinator

Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday
Address: 3009 – 32nd Avenue, Vernon, B.C. V1T 2L8
(Please book at least two weeks in advance)

Fee

For classroom presentations: $50 (no GST)
( Payment by cheque, cash, Visa, Mastercard )

There is no charge for guided museum tours, or walking tours

Education programs at the Vernon Museum are supported by the British Columbia Arts Council

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