Sizzling Summer Saturdays: Family fun on tap at Walker Tavern

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2013

Contact: Laurie Perkins, 517-241-0731


Sizzling Summer Saturdays: Family fun
programs on tap at Walker Tavern Historic Site

Registration opens Sunday, April 14, for Sizzling Summer Saturdays at Walker Tavern Historic Site near Brooklyn, Mich. Saturday programs begin June 15 and continue throughout the summer, offering families fun opportunities to learn more about Michigan’s past.

“We have an excellent slate of summer activities for kids ages 5-15,” said Friends of Walker Tavern President Bonnie McJennett. “There is something to interest everyone.”

A fee of $5 per child per program will cover supplies, but the adult who accompanies them is free. Friends of Walker Tavern receive a discount by signing up for the entire series.

Programs on this year’s schedule include Automobile Education Day, which coincides with the first race weekend of the season at nearby Michigan International Speedway. Activities are from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 15. Kids will make race cars from recycled materials and learn the history of US-12 as one of the major roads bringing settlers to Southeast Michigan in the 1840s.

Christmas will come early in July when Walker Tavern Historic Site hosts the Jolly Old Elf on Saturday, July 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Decorate a Christmas cookie, drink some hot chocolate and get those wish lists in the mail early. Start your holiday shopping at the Mercantile inside the Hewitt House.

 

Learn what it takes to be an archaeologist and see objects uncovered at Walker Tavern Historic Site. Gather around a fire to hear stories passed down by Native Americans and try your hand at making a “clay” pot. This session will run from 1 to 3 p.m. on July 20.

 

Automaker Henry Ford and his wife Clara visited the Hewitt family at Walker Tavern. Come to the site for Tea with Clara, Saturday, Aug. 3, from 1 to 3 p.m.

 

Join site manager Laurie Perkins as she takes you on a tour of Walker Tavern Historic Site and learn about stenciling in 1840s. Make your own stencil, Saturday, Aug. 17, from 1to 3 p.m.

 

We mix things up by concluding our Summer Saturdays on Tuesday, Aug. 20, from 1 to 3 p.m. Join our school ma’am as she helps you brush up on your grammar, arithmetic, spelling and elocution. Once you have mastered your sums, it is time for recess with jump ropes, rolling hoops, sack races and crack-the-whip.

Walker Tavern is one of 11 nationally accredited museums administered by the Michigan Historical Center, an agency within the Department of Natural Resources. It is located at the junction of US-12 and M-50, east of Jackson. For more information, call 517-467-4401 or visit www.michigan.gov/walkertavern.

 

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

 

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