Elk Grove Historical Museum is located in Elk Grove, CA. It specifically focuses on the local history of Elk Grove and how it has developed over the years since the city started around 1850. The museum offers tours, exhibits, scout and school programs, and assistance for those conducting research on Elk Grove Village and the surrounding area.
Many activities enable visitors of all ages to experience history differently, such as through games, crafts, demonstrations, and relevant exhibits.
Elk Grove Historical Museum offers numerous programs for guests of all ages. To know about the dates and times for specific activities, events, and programs, guests are advised to visit online registration on Elk Grove Park District or check the Seasonal Activity Guide. Below are things to do for guests who visit Elk Grove Historical Museum.
Museum Tours
The museum offers tours for guests to explore and experience history in Elk in The 19th-century. The tours are interactive and start at the Orientation Center. Elk Grove Historical Museum staff lead the tours, and they’re well conversant with the local history.
The staff is also friendly, and you’re free to ask them any details of Elk Grove’s historical information. Tours are free, but a donation of $1 per person is suggested and appreciated. Tours are excellent, and groups or family members of all ages can participate.
School Programs
Elk Grove Historical Museum provides numerous school or education programs for kids in Pre-K to 4th grade. These programs are designed to ensure they’re enjoyable, fun, comprehensible, interactive, and meet Illinois State’s educational standards.
Early Childhood (Pre-K – 1)
The timelines for the programs participated by the kids between these grades are 90 minutes or one and half hours. The programs include:
Little Pioneers
The students will visit Elk Grove Historical Museum’s farmhouse, and they’ll participate in period errands and games. The students will learn, compare, and differentiate their lives from those of the kids that lived in the 19th century.
Harvest Time On The Farm
Students will learn the importance of harvest time through different educational activities such as hands-on activities, series of fun stories, and Elk Grove Historical buildings belonging to the museum. Students will also learn about how Thanksgiving has evolved through various American traditions.
Early Elementary (Grades 2-4)
Education programs for students between these grades will also take 90 minutes. The programs will include:
Historic Campus Tour
Students in this age group or grades will also visit Elk Grove historical buildings belonging to the museum. They will learn how the immigrant settlers who came to Elk Grove city in the early years of the city adapted and changed the way of life in the community.
Growing Up In The 19th Century
The focus of this education program will be on the pioneer way of life and reasons for migration. Students will visit museum buildings and take part in running 19th-century errands and activities. Students will compare and differentiate their lives to those of the 19th-century kids in Elk Grove.
Booking A Program, Fees, And Outreach Arrangement
You can book an education program for your kid on Tuesdays through Fridays from 9 am-3 pm. You can call the museum or visit their site to fill in a form with few details. Fees for all the programs are only $5.00 per student.
A maximum of six adults can access the school programs for free at any given time. It is a must to have one adult for each group of ten students. You’re free to contact the teachers and cancel to reschedule the programs when you’re available to make the trip.
Elk Grove Historical Museum has an outreach program where they can bring the program to your kid. Outreach programs cost $25.00 per class, which should have at least 35. For schools that are out of the Elk Grove location, there are extra costs for mileage.
Girls, Cub, And Boy Scouts
The Elk Grove Historical Museum has numerous scout programs for girls, cubs, and boys related to historical programs and badges. Programs take two hours and are available throughout the year. Programs take place on Tuesdays through Saturdays and also include light snacks.
These scout programs teach many things, including numerous activities and knowledge. Some of them include how people in the past recycled scraps, the importance of protecting our planet, and camping techniques. They also learn how to investigate living things such as birds, use a map for their local town or city, use GPS receivers, and among other things.
Amenities
Many amenities will help you learn about numerous aspects of life in the 1850s. The amenities include the Orientation center, farmhouse, barn, and outbuildings.
Orientation Center
The historical experience provided by the museum starts. It is modeled like a single-room schoolhouse and houses the museum office, and it’s used for programming. There are temporary exhibits to view throughout the year.
Farmhouse
This house’s original beam and post structure was built in the mid-1800s and had two additions that were made later. The land was purchased in 1861 by Henry Schuette, but it’s unclear who constructed the house as we see it today.
The house helps to preserve local history and offers a glimpse of life in the 1860s. The main hub of this home is the kitchen, and there is also a sewing room, two upstairs bedrooms, a parlor, and a sick room. Visitors can tour the house and learn a little about the daily life of the Schuette family in the 1860s.
Barn
The barn is another feature that has enabled Elk Grove Historical Museum to preserve local history. It was owned by E.H. Dieke family, and its history dates back to around 1880. It has early farm tools, equipment, sleigh, buggy, and a surrey.
Visitors can also tour the barn and learn about early farming techniques and animal husbandry or care. The barn is now used for demonstrations and programs.
Outbuildings
Visitors Can Also Tour And Explore The Privy Chicken Coop And Garden. The Privy Will Give You A Glimpse Of Early Life And Hygiene Before Today’s Plumbing Techniques.
Exhibits
There are permanent, temporary, and past exhibitions. Past and present audio clips serve as permanent exhibitions that can help you understand past life and experiences. Schuette family’s documents and belongings are temporary exhibitions that will help you glimpse how life was during the 1860s.
There are paintings and images of everyday life for Americans on how men worked in the fields and how women were left behind to work on home chores. Women also worked in the fields when men went to war or in towns to work. These images and paintings are relevant exhibits that serve as past exhibitions.
Museum Collections
The Elk Grove Historical museum collections are treasures featured in engaging special events, award-winning exhibitions, or used to fulfill research requests or genealogy. Some of the collections include people’s interviews sharing their experiences and community memories.
You can always visit Elk Grove Historical Museum to learn and experience history in the 1800s or the 19th century. You will get interested and gather more information about past life in this great country of America. You will enjoy numerous other events and activities whether you’re alone, with your family, including kids, or with a group of friends.