An evening to enlighten the educators

Every year, thousands of school children get a chance to play in Grandma's trunk and take their own shot at building the foundation of the Comstock's mines. They get to touch real artifacts and sometimes even take them home.

The problem is, not everybody knows about it.

Now, the Nevada State Museum is hoping to change that by showcasing its educational wares to local school teachers.

Monday night the museum is hosting "an Evening for Educators," to enlighten teachers about the full array of opportunities at the museum.

"The purpose is to show the community that we are first and foremost an educational institution," said Deborah Stevenson, curator of education. "We make the past come alive and get the kids inspired. The museum creates that spark."

The event will be 3:30-6:30 p.m. Monday and is open to all educators. Tour guides will be present to give tours of "Under One Sky: Nevada's Native American Heritage" and to demonstrate several after-school programs including "Pines are Fine," "Wild and Wonderful Wetlands," "Fun with Fossils," and "Grandma's Trunk."

The trunk contains antique devices, including a citrus juicer made of China, a wagon wheel wrench, a traditional iron and a flour sifter.

"Everyone seems to like Grandma's Trunk, especially because they remember some of the items," Stevenson said.

The evening will also show educators how to book tours and the array of options available to school groups, including breaking the children into smaller groups and rotating them around stations.

"When we ask them afterward, they remember it because they got to touch something or make something," Stevenson said. "They like it. It makes them feel special because it's authentic."

Since she took over the position, Stevenson said the number of guided tours has increased dramatically.

"We do more guided tours than unguided, because the guided tours always have an educational hands-on component. We also do after-school programs and outreach," Stevenson said. "If they can't come to us we can try to go to them."

More than 10,000 school children visit the museum every year, and volunteer tour guides put in more than 4,000 hours to direct the tours.

"The reality is we don't need to advertise for tours, but we want the community to know all that we can do," Stevenson said.

• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.