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No Comments [ Add Comment ]Learning the Life / Treasures' exhibit now on display
By BROOKE NELSONSOUTH OGDEN -- Stringing beaded jewelry and creating sand art, third graders from H. Guy Child Elementary helped kick off the Utah Museum of Natural History's "Traveling Treasures" exhibit Thursday morning.
More than 40 objects from a recently acquired collection of Native American objects are on display at the South Ogden branch of Zions Bank as part of the traveling exhibit.
Local students enjoyed hands-on activities to celebrate the exhibits' arrival.
"I was so excited to see all the different kinds of things they could do," said third-grade teacher Judy Krebs. "They learned some history, some geology with rocks, and they used their creative skills. It was a fabulous presentation."
The sand art demonstration was especially popular. Students' creations were made permanent with glue, but authentic sand art was only as temporary as the wind would allow it to be.
"In ancient times, permanence wasn't as important," said Marsha Baldwin, a marketing specialist with Zions Bank, who helped children construct their art pieces.
The museum brought several docents and employees to teach the children about Native American culture and history, and a few Zions Bank employees received training about the projects.
Students also created pots and beaded necklaces and learned about the different types of rock used to create jewelry, arrowheads and other Native American objects.
"They're just really fascinated with the diversity," said Patti Carpenter, director of public relations for the museum.
All of the activities were based on lessons that could be learned from objects in the exhibit.
"It was fun to learn about what they did and how they lived," said 9-year-old Saige Dalton of learning about ancient cultures.
Eight-year-old Irene Bishop drew a sand art picture of a flower.
"I learned they made pictures out of sand. They drew animals and people and lots and lots of stuff," she said.
Andrea Standing, a public relations officer with the bank, said she loves seeing the kids' reactions to the activities.
"I think when they learn things in school, it can be very intangible," she said. "They come here and see that it's real."
This is the 13th year the museum and Zions Bank have partnered for the traveling exhibit, taking parts of the museum to people all over the state.
Carpenter said the museum wanted to share its collections with people who don't have access to the museum in Salt Lake City.
"Who's got better security than a bank?" she asked.
This year's collection was obtained by University of Utah geology professor Marjorie Chan, who was visiting local yard sales and noticed an unusual number of high-end collectors items at one home. The owner, Dorothy Haslam, had collected hundreds of objects over 50 years of traveling to the Four Corners region with her husband, Kenneth.
About 40 pieces of the 600-piece collection, which now belongs to the museum, are on display at Zions Bank, including jewelry, rugs, art and colorful dolls.
The exhibit will be on display at the bank through Dec. 1. It's free to the public.
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