Stuhr Museum Honored By True West Magazine

Stuhr Named "110 Places To Get Kids Hooked On History"

GRAND ISLAND, STUHR MUSEUM - Stuhr Museum was named one of True West Magazine's "110 Places To Get Kids Hooked On History," in the July 2009 Edition of the publication. The edition is on news stands now.

The magazine interviewed Stuhr's Director of Education Ann Atkins about how Stuhr uses its substantial grounds as well as knowledge of our time period to make history come alive for students. From the article:

Museums have a tendency to be hands-off and keep-quite - tough concepts for all seven year old - and all about dead people. Living history museums, on the other hand, are great ways to make history come to life.

"One of the recurring experiences teachers have is children who, for the first time, confront their own past on a personal level and wonder 'Did one of my family walk the trail, live in a sod house or hunt their own food?'" says Ann Atkins, director of education at Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island, Nebraska. "As a first grader stands and stares at a live buffalo on our grounds and hears stories about how buffalos were hunted, a respect for history grows in that child's heart. We hope to have them leave with more questions than what were answered because we've raised their curiosity on a personal level."

The magazine, which named Stuhr one of the "Best of the West" in 2007, features other museums and institutions that get children hooked on history.