Nanaimo Museum Summer Children�s Programs: Junior Archaeologist

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Wednesday, August 6th, 2014
1:30 PM to 3:30 PM

Making dinosaur fossils and sifting for ancient artifacts will help keep children entertained during summer vacation. The Nanaimo Museum is hosting two weekly drop-in programs for children, Dinosaurs and Junior Archaeologist. The hands-on activities appeal to children ages 5-12 years and the cost is included in museum admission.

The activities are designed for children to participate in along with their parents, grandparents or caregivers. �These programs are an excellent opportunity for families to learn about history together,� says Aimee Greenaway, the museum�s Interpretation Curator. �The kids enjoy hands-on activities and their parents are happy to watch them having some educational time in the summer.� The activities are offered on an ongoing basis during the programs and take approximately one hour for children to complete. Registration is not required. Caregivers must supervise children at all times during activities.

The Dinosaurs program takes place every Friday in July and August from 1:30pm-3:30pm. �This program was popular during spring break so we've expanded it for the summer months," says Greenaway. "It has a local focus allowing children to learn about dinosaurs and the prehistoric era in this region." The Junior Archaeologist program will be on Wednesdays in July and August from 1:30pm-3:30pm. The activities include using sifting screens to find artifacts in soil, recreating broken pottery jars and touching First Nations artifacts from the museum�s education collection.

A new family tour will be offered at the Bastion on Thursdays and Saturdays at noon in July and August. "This is an ideal family activity because they can watch the cannon firing and go directly on the tour," says Greenaway. "The tour will capture the attention of children and adults with ghost stories and info about the jail added into the history of the fort." The tour is 20 minutes long and admission is by donation.

The Nanaimo Museum is open 10am-5pm daily until Labour Day weekend and open until 8:00pm on Friday. Admission is $2 for adults, $1.75 for seniors and $0.75 for children. For more information please call 250 753-1821 or visit www.nanaimomuseum.ca. The museum is located in the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.