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 Stone mortar and pestle with soaproot brush. |
 Bark skirt, brain-tanned leather skirt and rabbit skin blanket |
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Stone mortar and pestle with soaproot brush. |
Bark skirt, brain-tanned leather skirt and rabbit skin blanket |
1st and 2nd Grades
Introduction to California
Native American Cultures
Native American games and role play makes imagining life as a hunter-gatherer society exciting. The class explores the culture of a Central California Native American group as selected students dress in clothing worn by the Ohlone Peoples. Games may include hoop and pole, shell dice and staves games, pin and ring toss and acorn tops. Children are invited to touch reproductions including an arrow, mortar and pestle, willow baskets, rabbit skin blanket and plant specimens as they learn about the Ohlone culture. Students are encouraged to contrast what they have leaned about Native Americans with entertainment stereotypes they have seen.
3rd Grade
Connections to the
Past
Baskets, arrows, mortar and pestle, plant specimens, arrow points and clothing are among the reproductions we bring to the class to help students experience life in California before the arrival of Europeans. Students enact a deer hunt where the hunter behaves like a deer. The mortar and pestle, baskets and cooking rocks are put to use to demonstrate acorn processing. Hands-on activities include making tule rope, bead making and Native American games. Demonstrations may include fire making with spindle and hearthboard, cordage making and knapping an obsidian arrowhead.
4th Grade
Mission Period
Students take center stage in Mission Period clothing as the impact of change during the Mission Period is explored. A timeline reenactment of Father Serra’s travels set the stage for learning hands-on skills. We experience life at the mission as we construct miniature adobe bricks, drill holes with pump drills, process wool with drop spindles and write about our experience with feather quills and ink.
5th Grade
Settler Period
Students hear the exaggerated tales of gold in the streets of San Francisco and learn about the adventures and hardships faced by those moving West. Students experience a bit of “gold fever” of their own as they pan for gold, play games of skill and chance, “roll up their sleeves” for laundry day activities, and determine the authenticity of a gold claim with weights and measures at the assessor’s office. They see the scope of change in California brought by mining during the Settler Period.
6th Grade
Early Humans - Paleolithic
Technology
Imagine hunting a mammoth. Cast a dart with an atlatl (dart thrower) at a mammoth target. We become a tribe of Stone Age Homo sapiens. We hunt, create stone tools, process hides and meat, prepare for travel and create rock art with earth pigments. Activities help students see how intelligence and resources shaped the lives of early humans. Students may try their hand at fire-by-friction, grind and paint with earth pigments and twine cordage. Demonstrations of tool manufacturing and reproductions of paleolithic tools help illustrate life in the Stone Age.
3rd - 6th Grades
Archeological Dig
Our archeological site will be at your school. With a bit of digging and screening, we unearth pre-buried historical treasure. Grid lines and depth measurements help us quantify our finds. Comparisons with known collections, measurements and other clues help create a timeline. Our finds are discussed as we seek to tell the story of ancient lives.
Fees
Programs are $75.00 per hour. Inquire about flat rates for group assembly presentations.
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