Over the past six weeks the Museum has been a host to a group of time travelers. Members of the Moab 4-H have been participating in the Museum’s Ancient Art Club. The students, ages eight through 12, began their journey through time by exploring the ancient peoples who inhabited the Moab Valley. Beginning with the Paleo-Indian people, students learned about hunter gatherer cultures, which eventually settled to become the Archaic, basket makers and later the Puebloan people or sometimes called the Anasazi. After studying the ancient native people the students then explored the art forms of the Ute and Navajo who came to Moab 800 years ago.
“The Museum loved hosting the 4-H kids, their enthusiasm for history was infectious,” said Travis Schenck, Museum of Moab director.
“Eager to discover through active learning, the kids etched petroglyphs into clay painted pottery designs weaved baskets and created models of kivas,” said Andrea Stoughton, education director for the museum. “It was a delight to work with these talented kids.” This led the club members on an ancient journey into the labor intensive work the ancients performed in order to survive in the desert.
The museum’s exhibits provided a perfect back drop for delving into the mysteries and learning through observation of the artifact trail the southwestern peoples left for students and scientists to interpret. The kids not only created ancient crafts but also learned the time period and history related to that particular object.
The Museum of Moab has hosted the summer 4-H program for four years.
