May 10 2009
Sibley House Historic Site in Mendota, MN
Because it’s on the MNHS possible closure list but mostly because they were hosting a great archaeology program this weekend, we stopped at the Sibley House Historic Site in Mendota on Saturday.
Although we didn’t have time for a guided tour of the fur-trade area buildings, we very much enjoyed the archaeology dig for kids. Each child got a square in a dirt-filled box and was taught how to dig for artifacts, all of which have been found on the grounds of the Sibley House. The kids were excited to find bones, pieces of china, coins, bottles, and other items in their squares, and then go through their finds with a staff member to find the significance of the items and some basic information about determining dates for the artifacts they found.
Minnesota has many high-quality historic sites, and the special programs put on at the sites are superb. We have several other sites on our to-see list this spring and summer.
I hope the MNHS can come up with funding to keep these places open. They do such a great job. I was at the James J. Hill House yesterday for a Mother’s Day event, and the tour guide said a Hill descendant had donated a rare sapphire that belonged to Mrs. Hill and gave them permission to auction it off to build an endowment. They sold it for $3 million! So the Hill House is safe for a good while.
Amy’s last blog post..A contest, with prizes and everything!
[...] Sibley House is also the host of special events. Last weekend we took the kids to archaeology day, where they were shown how archaeologists dig. Each child was given a square to work in and [...]
[...] Numbered Days: Sibley House Historic Site in Mendota, MN Posted on Sunday, May 10th, 2009 in Historic Sites – Comments: (2) Because it’s on the MNHS possible closure list but mostly because they were hosting a great archaeology program this weekend, we stopped at the Sibley House Historic Site in Mendota on Saturday.Although we didn’t have time for a guided tour of the fur-trade area buildings, we very much enjoyed the archaeology dig for kids. Each child got a square in a dirt-filled box and was taught how to dig for artifacts, all of which have been found on the grounds of the Sibley House. [...]
[...] Sibley House Historic Site [...]