Discover Days: Hands-on projects offered on days when there is no school

| Tuesday, January 23, 2007

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are opening new worlds for local kids

By Jomay Steen, Journal staff

RAPID CITY — Reid Riner, director of the Minnilusa Pioneer Museum, recalls childhood memories of his grandmother at a recent Discover Days session. It is part of an assignment to delve into family history.

Thinking of the characteristics of his grandmother, Riner creates an open-verse poem that he writes on a white-board in a classroom at The Journey Museum.

“Just write what you remember … using what you remember, you make the poem,” he said. His poem about his grandmother, Alegra, is simply four lines:

Alegra

Berry picker

Sunshine, Georgia

Best cook in the world.

As a tool, Riner instructs the young students to ask their parents or grandparents to tell them a story about their childhoods or a favorite family pet. He is helping the fourth- to eighth-grade students learn how to gather information and family history.

“It helps you to connect with your family. They can tell you what they did when they were children and get you back to a different age,” Riner tells the students.

Discover Your Family through Writing and Scrapbooking is the fifth program of the Discover Days events sponsored by the Rapid City Public Library, according to public services library associate Linda Rogers. This session included staff help from the Minnilusa Museum and Dakota Artists Guild.

The sessions have had as many as 24 to 35 participants attend the free programs, Rogers said.

“The programs are designed for students on weekdays when there is no school,” she said.

Sherri Morgan’s daughters, Shekendra and Molly, who attended the writing session at the museum and scrapbooking session at the library, said she wasn’t sure if her children knew that it was about family.

“I guess they attended because of the scrapbooking part. They’re very artistic, and they love to write,” Sherri Morgan said.

The Rapid City parent said they save mementos — postcards, tickets, programs — believing that someday they are going to put them into a scrapbook.

“We don’t know how to do it,” she said.

Sherri Morgan appreciates these types of programs. She often takes her children to art shows at Dahl Arts Center, to community and school plays, and they try to go to the symphony.

She said the girls are introduced to a new circle of friends, but more importantly, they see how art is part of their everyday lives.

Sherri Morgan said that, for the scrapbooking session, the girls had decided to record the history of a pet dog that she once had, planning interviews with her and her two sisters as well as their grandparents. “They’re excited about it, and they’re looking forward to the next program,” Sherri Morgan said.

This year’s Discover Days programs include:

- Feb. 9 — Discover Card Making — Make a Very Special Valentine Card

- Feb. 19 — Discover the Lost Arts of Spinning, Weaving and Knitting

- March 16 — Discover Computers — new computers and programs

- May 7 — Discover Cycling — all kinds of cycles

To register, call the Rapid City Public Library at 394-6139 or go to www.rapidcitylibrary.org.

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.