Celebrate the spring season with Old Independence Regional Museum at Spring Family Day on Saturday, March 28 from 10am to 2pm. The event is free and open to the public. This year’s theme is “Arkansas the Natural State” with special programming that includes Rodney Paul of Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas, who will be bringing owls, hawks and falcons, Dr. Becky McPeake of the University of Arkansas Extension Service, who will be presenting the program “Snakes Alive.”
Dr. Tamara Walkingstick of the University of Arkansas Extension Service will be talking about wild edibles, Tony Guinn from Blanchard Springs Caverns presenting about bats and cave life, and Dr. Gus Lorenz with the University of Arkansas Extension Service talking about Arkansas insects. Other programming will include Powhattan State Park interpreter, Steve Saunders who will talk about the fur trade and keel boats on the White River and Amanda Nikkel demonstrating Dutch oven cooking on the museum’s open, outdoor hearth.
“We are excited about the list of presenters coming to our Spring Family Day to highlight Arkansas’ wild heritage,” states Amanda Nikkel, humanities educator. Rodney Paul of Raptor Rehab and his “raptor ambassadors” will attend the event and speak to the public about raptors and their importance to our ecology. Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas was established in 2004 and to date has successfully released over 600 raptors back into their natural habitat. They are one of only three facilities in the state that can legally handle eagles. Paul states, “We specialize in the pre and post medical care, rehabilitation and eventual release of our native birds of prey consisting of hawks, owls, falcons and vultures back into the wild.”
Dr. McPeake will be talking about snake awareness and safety. Accompanying her will be a snake from the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center. Visitors will be able to get up close and interact with the snake.
Keelboats were long, narrow boats with a keel, which provided stability, and were used by fur traders to transport goods up and down local rivers. Unlike flat bottom boats, keelboats could make the trip back up the river. Steve Saunders, an interpreter from Powhattan State Park, will talk about the keelboat’s use during the heyday of the fur trade in our region, when Arkansas was still a territory. He will be bringing several furs from animals native to Arkansas and a model keelboat.
The Museum gift shop has stocked up for the day with many new items for kids and families. Claudia Nobles, gift shop manager, notes that the gift shop has several new plush animals, plus educational toys and historical books.
The Museum volunteers will be holding a bake sale with sweet and savory treats available for purchase to benefit the Museum.
This humanities program is made possible by local support from Independence County and the City of Batesville, as well as by Challenge Grant Endowment funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Old Independence serves a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff. Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820s Arkansas territory.
The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and $1.00 for children. The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville. During your visit, stop by our gift shop. We stock many items from local artists, authors, and crafters, as well as historical toys and games.
