A group of children and adults got an opportunity, on August 27, to see how Gulliver felt in the Land of Lilliput, as they viewed a re-creation of pre-1916 Ashcroft on the final Fun Day of the summer at the Ashcroft Museum.
On the last two Fun Days, participants constructed miniature versions of many of Ashcroft’s historic buildings, including the CP station, the town’s hotels, the Harvey Bailey Building, Chinatown, the Community Hall, Campbell’s Ice Cream Parlour, the Journal building, and of course the Public Building, which now houses the museum.
The finished works were all laid out by street, creating a vivid 3-D reconstruction of the town. Many of the participants took their buildings home with them, but some remain at the museum.
Curator Kathy Paulos says that she and summer employee Breána Paulos started the free Fun Days last year, and ran them through the month of August. They proved to be popular, and Kathy says that this year Chief Administrative Officer Michelle Allen really wanted to see the Fun Days run in July as well, so Kathy and Breána began picking out the various themes for each of the seven sessions.
“The Gold Rush day went really well, and the kids enjoyed making salmon prints and learning about the fossils, but building the town was the most popular activity,” says Kathy. “We showed the kids pictures of the old buildings, and we went for a walk and saw the old buildings that are still here.
“Some of the kids already knew which buildings they wanted to make, and talked at the first session about what they’d do the following week. Everyone got their picks.”
She says that there were eight to 10 participants at each session, aged between five and 12 years old. “Some of them were there last year and came back this year. We hope to have the Fun Days back next summer, and we’d like to get more kids.”
The Ashcroft Museum is open through the end of October, every weekday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed weekends and statutory holidays).
editorial@accjournal.ca
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