Learning at the Tennessee State Museum

Last month we enjoyed a trip to the Tennessee State Museum.  Many of the exhibits focus on the early American time period.  It was fun to discover new things in a hands on way.

We have all read Little House on the Prairie and heard about their travels in the covered wagon. It was fascinating to see a real live covered wagon.  Amazing to stand there and imagine a family our size or larger with all of their belongings traveling months on end.  When I think about the pioneers journey and the times we have had to start over in our family.  Well, our new beginnings seem small in comparison.

One of the games pictured behind the children in the above photo was to help you to think through what types of things you should take on your journey in a covered wagon.  It discussed the most common items of the time period.  Pots, axes, rope, mattresses, cooking utensils and many more items were available to choose from.  We discussed what we should take and what we should leave behind.  The game below is the same game on a preschool level.  We were able to review the same information and play with this little wagon and picture board as well.

This was a replica of a log cabin.  I find it humorous that I was standing there thinking of how very small that cabin was and Timothy is gazing at the bed thinking of how fun it would be to sleep up there. Ha ha!

This loom was on display along with other methods of how clothing was made in the past.  

This printing press and the tools required to run a newspaper were on display as well.  Amazing that now all we have to do is type on a keyboard and click a button to get words out to millions of people.

The children's favorite display was the kids area.  There were toys to play with similar to the types of toys pioneer children played with long ago.  Elizabeth and I had fun dressing her up as a pioneer girl of old. 

 Just like the pioneer girls she too loved the little corn husk doll.

 Timothy enjoyed playing with this toy.

While James promptly challenged his little brother to a game of checkers.

Of course early American life would not have been complete without weapons.  They needed them to hunt, protect themselves and eventually defend our country.  The museum had displays of several different wars that Tennessee had been involved in including the American Revolution, Mexican War and the War Between the States.

There were many other exhibits too numerous to mention, but from which we each took portions of learning from.  Antique furniture from the past, quilting displays, a large section on the War between the States and the Antebellum time period and the history of Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States of America were all a part of this wonderfully rich historical museum.