Old Prairie Town - Our first field trip

As part of our teacher training here in Kansas, we are having U.S. History and Culture Classes. The nice part - besides all the learning we're having, of course! - is that they take us in field trips to some historic sites in the State. Our first trip was to Old Prairie Town, a nice place where they put together some different buildings from Kansas' ancient times. We saw an old train station, a real windmill and a well, some stores, the doctor's and dentist's office, and the only two building that were really there, the log cabin and the mansion. They served as residence for the woman that made possible for the place to grow and develop, Mrs. Mary Jane Ward. If you want to know more about her story, you can go to this website and check it out.

We also had the opportunity to visit Kansas Museum of History, where we could see a timeline of all the events that were told to us at Old Prairie Town. We saw the indians history, the problem of slavery, the gold rush period, and so on. On the other side of the museum, we could see the hall of presidents, with posters and material from presidential campaigns in America. The visit finished at the museum gift shop, that sells cards, pins, books and t-shirts with historic themes. For more information about the museum, visit hours and others, go to the museum website.

Both places are wonderful, and we feel like spending the whole day walking by those places. But soon it was time to return to the hotel and prepare ourselves to show our new findings about this marvelous and enriching place, the city of Topeka. And looks like there's more by the end of the week, since we're going to Kansas City. But for now, a lot of classes!! As soon as I organize my notes, I will bring a summary of everything we've been studying during this time here. Stay tuned!

Bye bye!!

Aline de Souza