For Scouts
Boy Scouts Merit Badges
Leatherwork
Cooking
Mining in Society
Geology
American Cultures
ACTIVITY: Make your Own: Moccasins
GRADES: Middle School - Adult
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA MERIT BADGE: Leatherwork
Time: 4 hours
Event Date: TBD
Event Schedule: TBD
OBJECTIVE
Students will learn hands-on how moccasins are made. Students will make their own pair of moccasins according to their own foot size. Students will develop simple leather and sewing skills.
MATERIALS
Leather, or Leather substitute if requested, beads, awl, "sinew"
ACTIVITY: Cooking like a Pioneer
GRADES: Middle School - Adult
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA MERIT BADGE: Cooking
Time: 4 hours
Event Date: TBD
Event Schedule: TBD
OBJECTIVE
Students will learn hands-on how to cook like a pioneer over an open fire with cast-iron pans, and pioneer are cooking tools. Students may choose from the Museums’ recipe list, or may create their own menu.
MATERIALS
Fire Pit, Wood, Fire Grate, Cast Iron Pans, Tongs, Dishes
ACTIVITY: Let’s Be Geologists!
GRADES: Middle School - Adult
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA MERIT BADGE: Geology
Time: 3-4 hours
Event Date: TBD
Event Schedule: TBD
OBJECTIVE
Students will learn, through discussion and hands-on, the geology and topography of the Driftless Region. They will delve into the Ordovician Period of 485-444 million years ago, taking a look at fossils that include mollusks and arthropods which dominated Wisconsin’s Cambrian sea long ago. Students will leap into the Ice Age and find out why our region looks the way it does, and how this has affected the mining industry in this region. We will also take a look at fossils from this period. Students will explore the 1845 Bevans Mine for any fossils and to experience the Ordovician rock around them. Students will examine the stalactites and stalagmites that have formed.
MATERIALS
Fossils, magnifying glasses, fossil diagrams, flashlights
ACTIVITY: The Fur Trade and Mining
GRADES: Middle School - Adult
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA MERIT BADGE: American Cultures
Time: 2 hours
Event Date: TBD
Event Schedule: TBD
OBJECTIVE
Students will learn how First Nations of the Upper Mississippi Valley mined and trapped, and how they traded with early Europeans and Americans in this region. They will learn how the mining industry affected the First Nations of this region. Students will learn about the tensions that lead to the Winnebago and Black Hawk War.
MATERIALS
Beads, fur trade jewelry, ax, flint and steel, food, basket, tools, copper, fur trade furs, scissors case, beaded bag, maps, photographs
Become a member!
Annual Membership Benefits:
- Unlimited FREE admission to museum galleries and grounds
- Unlimited FREE guided Mine Tours (May-October)
- Unlimited FREE Train Rides (May-October)
- Invitations to FREE member events such as the Autumn Friends Annual Program & Meeting
- 10% discount in the Museum Store
- Museums Newsletter and email updates
- Recognition in Newsletter
Be the first to know about special events and programming!
HOURS
In Season: May - October
Open Wednesday - Sunday
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Off Season: November - April
Closed Except for Seasonal Programs
405 East Main Street, P.O. Box 780 Platteville, WI 53818
(608) 348-3301