Put away the DVD player, the PlayStation and Xbox. Leave at home the Gameboy, Nintendo DS, and PSP. Let Conner Prairie’s youth interpreters show you a time before modern conveniences - what it’s like to play non-electronic games with the entire family! Try your hand at nine pins, jump rope, checkers, hoop and stick, marbles, and tug of war. Take a swing at historic baseball, throw a tomahawk or help churn and sample homemade ice cream. Step inside a giant bubble, spin a clay pot and compete in a sack race, all during Conner Prairie’s Let’s Play weekend July 20-22.
“Our youth interpreters provide a point of access to the past for our youngest guests, who often hesitate in interacting with adult interpreters,” said Dan Freas, Director of Programs for Conner Prairie. “They do a wonderful job of seeking out museum guests of all ages and drawing them into 19th-century tasks and games.”
Conner Prairie has 400 volunteers and 100 youth interpreters working with the 165 paid interpreters in the historic areas. Youth interpreters, between the ages of 10 and 18 can be found at Conner Prairie greeting guests in the Museum Center, assisting with hands-on activities in Discovery Station and the Lenape Indian Camp, or portraying 19th-century life as fictional characters in either the 1836 village of Prairietown or the 1886 rural crossroads, Liberty Corner.
Conner Prairie’s upcoming July 20-22 event, Let’s Play, showcases the time, effort and fun that the youth interpreters channel into their countless volunteer hours. “Let’s Play not only provides an exciting weekend of 19th-century fun for our guests, but it also allows our 100 youth interpreters to highlight their talents and try their hand at new museum skills,” said Sarah Morin, the Youth Interpreter Program Coordinator. “These youth will not only present the games you will be playing, but they also helped research, plan and organize the activities you will enjoy.”
Before summer slips away, spend some meaningful time with your children at Conner Prairie, where the youth interpreters have packed 200 years worth of entertainment into a weekend full of fun. The spirit of magic will be present throughout the historic areas as the youth interpreters will be demonstrating magic tricks such as card tricks, coin tricks, string tricks, mind reading tricks and more in both Prairietown and Liberty Corner. Guests will also learn how to do simple magic tricks through youth-led workshops. Enjoy ongoing games and amusements in every historic area that will make children of all ages want to join in the hoopla! Try your hand at old-fashioned crafts such as making tumble bugs, bean bag balloons and rainbow flyers, blowing bubbles and sampling homemade ice cream! Test your hunting skills the way young Lenape boys did. See if you can throw a stick through a rolling hoop at the Lenape Indian Camp. In Liberty Corner, join in a sack race or pick up a game of croquet or base ball. And in Prairietown each family will be focusing on a different game like nine pins, checkers, tug-of-war, dominoes, stilts and marbles!
Get a front row seat for Laura ingalls Wilder, Voice of the Prairie, a live theatrical performance from The Little Houseon the Prairie™ series. Performed in one of the quaint historic buildings, the play will bring back memories of your favorite Little House stories. The books will also be available at the Museum Shop.
Let’s Play activities are free with museum admission: $11 for adults, $7 for children ages 5-12 and children 4 and under are free. Hours: Friday, July 20 and Saturday, July 21 - 10am-5pm and Sunday, July 22 - 11am-5pm. For more information call 317.776.6006 or 800.866.1836 or visit our website: www.connerprairie.org.
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