Wrapping up Bosque Museum’s summer camp series, STEM On The Frontier teaches pioneer technology to youth from all over Bosque County
CLIFTON – Science and technology is everywhere in the world today. Growing up in a world with all sorts of amenities, taking electricity, running water and endless supplies at stores for granted, today’s youth might not realize the challenges faced by the pioneers of the Western Frontier in the mid-1800s; and they might not realize that pioneers used science every day, just to survive the challenges this new land threw at them.
While the pioneer days are far behind us, knowing what it took to be able to survive on the frontier provide valuable lessons. At the Bosque Museum STEM On The Frontier summer camp July 16-19, 14 youth ranging from second to sixth grade came from all over the county, split between boys and girls, connected past and present technology, journaling their activities, all while having fun playing games and making new friends.
With this camp, the museum ties into the Texas Education Agency’s focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, aimed to prepare students for future career opportunities by using a method of hands-on teaching and learning where students learn to apply academic content by creatively solving real-world problems with innovative design-based thinking.
STEM encourages critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. It also helps students build scientific literacy and foster innovation. With a background heading the Texas Discovery Gardens Education Department and as board member of the Informal Science Educators Association of Texas, the museum’s Executive Director Erin Shield used her experience to develop a structured, diverse and interesting week of engaging, science-based activities for the young campers.
“I love project-based learning,” Shields said. “It allows to present an existing problem and leaves it up to the kids to innovate and come up with a solution. It might nog be the most practical solution, but it’s the process. ‘Try and fail’ is an important way to learning.”
Seated at the new round tables at the pavilion, the museum campers for example were asked to design a water filtration system using materials from the museum grounds and a milk separator, work with symmetry when designing a quilt, build differently shaped cabins with spaghetti and raisins, make rope out of raffia, and learn why bees were important. How do these thing connect to pioneers?
The first step to survival for humans is food and water. Collecting rain water, digging a well or transporting water from a nearby water source was imperative. Making sure it was safe for consumption required filtration. Many of the covered wagon travelers brought dried foods, flour, sugar, salt, tools, cooking utensils and some livestock with them. And starting a fire and cooking over an open fire were important skills.
Hunting and fishing provided the first protein, but planting and harvesting crops, tending to livestock were started straight away, after building shelter to protect from the elements, hot and cold. Basic carpentry and structural engineering are needed there. The Boy Scouts Pioneering merit badge, for example, focusses on use of ropes, knots to make wood structures. The milk separator separated the milk from the cream, which in turn was the basic ingredient for butter. Beekeeping provided pollination for the crops and honey as a natural sweetener.
The Jacob Olson pioneer cabin as a backdrop offered perfect inspiration for the campers. Born in 1854, Jacob arrived in Bosque County when he was 12 years old. He came with his Norwegian parents Joseph and Anna Karina, his Sister Anna-Marie, Ole Mikkel and Torburg. The family left Norway in 1958, traveled to Quebec, Canada and moved south to settle in Bosque County. The log cabin was built in 1866.
The cabin was restored using the same materials and methods used by Joseph Olson in 1866. A split juniper roof was constructed to simulate the original roof and wood from local live oak and juniper trees was used to replace the rotted exterior logs. The restored house contains pioneer furnishings donated by local families. It received a Texas Historical Marker in 1986.
Another connection past to present was the story of how Bosque County pioneer Ole Ringness invented the disc plow and harrow. In his work on the family farm, he observed a wheel of his wagon cup on the axle. As the wheel became more cupped, it moved larger amounts of mud. Thus, he conceived the idea of a disc plow and disc harrow and made models of them in his father's blacksmith shop.
Born in 1843 in Norway, Ringness died in 1872 on his travels to Washington to patent his invention. A model of one of Ringness' three original disc plows is in the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin.
While the campers had heard of the concept of a plow, they were not sure on what its exact job is. Their assignment to figure out a way to plant seeds quicker improved their understanding of a plow’s function. Some of the assignments seemed a bit like school, but the way the problems were presented offered a different approach by the youth. Unstructured play – of which Shields is a big advocate – allowed for team building and relaxation.
This is the second year the museum offered a successful Pioneer STEM camp, and Shields intends to keep it on the books, swapping out activities to keep it interesting. For example, one activity the campers did not get around to doing this year was the fun problem of how to pack your covered wagon. It would involve a lot of math, calculating the weight of different supplies, as well as the space they take up, while additionally initiating discussions of what supplies would be most important to bring.
“It’s important to get kids into the museum,” Shields said. “They become the adults that will ultimately support a museum.”
During the week, which ended with a popsicle party, the campers also enjoyed exploring the different exhibits in the museum – from geology in the museum atrium to cowboy culture, to Norwegian heritage and everything in between. They experienced fun, and science-based learning in an inspiring setting surrounded by history, connecting past with the present.
Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS
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