Summer camp
Heritage Museum summer camp!
Join us June 24-28 from 9:00 to 1:00 for a fun and educational camp for rising Kindergarten through fifth graders! Featured lessons will include botany, beekeeping, earth science, food science, and rockets. Campers must bring their own lunch, snack, and a drink, and we encourage you to bring sunscreen and bug spray as we will be spending time outside.
June 24
John Fay from Eglin Air Force Base will have an interactive lesson about rockets, their uses, and how they work. The day will conclude with a model rocket launch!
June 25
Amanda Briant and an AmeriCorps student with the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance are committed to preserving and restoring our waterways. They'll lead campers through the importance of the CBA's projects with hands-on activities.
June 26
The Valparaiso Garden Club returns for an exciting day all about botany, pollination, and gardening. Activities will include planting seeds and soil testing.
June 27
Ed Crosby is our local beekeeping friend who will bring in an observation hive to demonstrate the importance of pollinators. He'll be leading campers through the garden to explore different types of bees and to talk about how honey is made.
June 28
Our camp concludes with a pioneer-themed food science day! Marcus Hencinski, Culinary Instructor from the Okaloosa Technical College, will work with campers on making their own yeast bread and churned butter from start to finish. The day will conclude with a food tasting and ice cream sundae party!
Cost
$17 per day
$75 for the week
Please complete one registration form for each camper attending and either mail or e-mail it to the Museum. Payment can be made by check, directly on our website, or call to pay by credit card.
School tours
Native Americans to Pioneers
Learn about Native Americans, the Florida Panhandle's original residents, and Pioneers. The tour will explore the similarities and differences between these two groups and how technology and our lifestyles have changed over the years. Students will also have self-guided time in the Discovery room, a hands-on area where students can experience a model one-room schoolhouse, store, and an archaeology dig.
Activities to accompany this tour include pinchpots, paper dolls, and designing your own pioneer-style quilt.
Paradise Gardens
This tour explores our pollinator garden and the importance of bees, birds, and butterflies and plants to the ecosystem. Students will learn about different types of plants such as perennials and annuals, how to describe the life cycles of plants, and the structures of plants.
Chromatography butterflies are a wonderful accompaniment to this tour to allow students to see capillary action and how water reacts with markers to enhance the color spectrum
Technology Throughout History
A lot has changed in the Panhandle since the Native Americans first got here, and in this tour students will learn how technology was developed and used by pioneers and during WWII. This tour includes aspects of history and focuses mainly on the use of simple machines.
Students will make catapults using popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and spoons to have hands-on learning with simple machines.
Bespoke tours
Don't see something that meets you and your students' needs? Give us a call, and we'll be happy to work with you to create the right experience for your school.
Heritage Alive! Classes
Crafting and hobby classes
Ever wanted to make your own basket, try your hand at blacksmithing, or make your own soap? Join us at the museum most Saturdays to learn all about these crafts! All costs include supplies. Sign up for our classes right here on our website.
Introduction to blacksmithing
$85 | $80 for members
Have you ever wanted to try your hand at the forge? Bend and shape steel? Make something useful and enduring? Strike now! The iron is hot.
Students will learn the basic skills of the blacksmith including safety, tools and equipment, and the skills for drawing out, upsetting, hotcutting, bending and punching.
*Required: Wear sturdy shoes, long pants, and long-sleeved shirt
Children ages 12-15 must be accompanied by an adult
Only four students per class
Register today: Online, call (850) 678-2615, or visit the Heritage Museum
Upcoming dates:
1 June
15 June
Introduction to soap making
$50 | $45 for members
Using the cold-process method and working with lye, students will learn the basics of soap making and make their own 1lb batch of soap to take home. All materials included!
Register today: Online, call (850) 678-2615, or visit the Heritage Museum
**We currently do not have any soapmaking classes scheduled.**
Basket weaving
$55 | $50 for members
Join instructor Carol Dickson and learn how to make a double arrow border basket.
Students will be learn a new skill, experience an age-old tradition, and create something uniquely yours!
Register today: Online, or call (850) 678-2615, or visit the Heritage Museum
Upcoming dates:
8 June
20 July
17 August
14 September
19 October
9 November
Watercolor
$45 | $40 for members
Join watercolor instructor Carol Dickson and create a beautiful scene using watercolor paints right here at the Museum. You will learn a new skill and create something uniquely yours that you will get to keep!
The class cost includes all materials.
Register today: Online, call (850) 678-2615, or visit the Heritage Museum
**We do not currently have any drop spindle classes scheduled.**
Jewelry
$40 | $35 for members
Join instructor Alice Cimino and learn how to create a unique piece of jewelry.
Register today: Online, call (850) 678-2615, or visit the Heritage Museum
Upcoming dates:
22 June
Pine needle basket making
$60 | $55 for members
Learn how to make pine needle baskets! Our talented instructors will show the process from start to finish, and you'll be able to go home with one of your very own.
Only 10 students per class
Register today: Online, call (850) 678-2615, or visit the Heritage Museum
Upcoming dates:
10 August
4 October
21 December
Drop spindle
$60 | $55 for members
Join Anna Sandlin and learn all about drop spindle weaving! This is a fun spinning class for beginners.
Register today: Online, call (850) 678-2615, or visit the Heritage Museum
**We do not currently have any drop spindle classes scheduled.**
Introduction to wood turning
$66 | $61 for members
Come learn how to make your very own fine-crafted wooden pen. Students get to choose from a variety of wood samples to create a unique pen.
Join instructor Christopher, and make your own specialized pen! There will be two classes offered at 10am and 1pm.
Register today: Online, call (850) 678-2615, or visit the Heritage Museum
Upcoming dates:
8 June
Mosaic tiling
$45 | $40 for members
This is a two-part class all about the art of mosaic tiling. Please plan to attend both dates.
Register: Online, call (850) 678-2615, or come visit us at the museum!
Upcoming dates:
27 July
3 August
Homeschool Fridays
Homeschool Fridays
One Friday each month, guest speakers come to the museum to meet with homeschool students about various topics including the hammered dulcimer and archaeology. Please contact us for more details and to reserve your space!
Cost
Students - $10 each | $8 for members
Parents - first is free, additional are $3 each
Upcoming dates and topics
We're taking a break from homeschool lessons for the summer, so check back in August for dates, lessons, and more information!