STEM Pipeline Blog / September 8, 2022

Hands-On History at the Castle Museum

STEM and history go together like protons and neutrons! Science is part of how we discover and
preserve the past. Everything has a history, including STEM! Whether here in the Castle Museum or out in the community and schools, our Education Coordinator, Kristi Furtaw, makes connections across disciplines while bringing history to life.

Traveling Time Machine

Thanks to our traveling Time Machine, Kristi, a former teacher herself, comes into the classroom with everything in hand ready to teach the children of Saginaw County about their local history and Michigan history through interactive lessons.

We have lessons that explore topics like archaeology, fur trading and the French Voyagers, and industry. Lessons are geared for second through fifth grade.

Once in the classroom room, Kristi excites the students with real historic artifacts that they can touch
and interact with. She has many activities that use STEM and historic concepts to engage the students. One of the favorites and highly requested lesson is What’s Found Underground – Archaeology! Students learn what an archaeologist is, tools they use, and how they connect their findings to history through investigation. Students, or junior archaeologist as we like to call them, get to experience a “mock dig” while looking for REAL historical artifacts in bins. The excitement of finding a real artifact is definitely the highlight of the lesson. We get a lot of “Ooooos” and “ahhhhs” from the students, which is fun to hear.

Field Trips

After having our education coordinator visit your classroom, why not schedule a field trip to the
beautiful Castle Museum itself? The building once served the community as a post office, and now we have three floors of exhibits related to Saginaw County history. Entering the great lobby, visitors are wowed by the grandeur of the space and the detailed craftsmanship.

Tours generally begin on the lower level and our foundations as a county. That includes stories and artifacts from the Anishinabek – the region’s first peoples – settlement by those of European descent and how Saginaw was established as a county. Exhibits share the stories of industry including lumber, automotive, and mining. Our impressive archaeology exhibit rounds out the lower level.

On our main level, visitors can explore exhibits that tell the story of the post office building itself, city life full of prominent Saginaw city businesses, and ever-changing temporary exhibits making each visit a new experience.

As visitors make their way up the grand spiral staircase, on our third level, they will be greeted with our Made in Saginaw exhibit featuring past entrepreneurs, their businesses, and inventions. The collection includes products and furniture all made in the Saginaw area. Visitors always enjoy a glimpse of the past with our period rooms depicting an old kitchen, a beauty shop, and doctor and dentist offices.

Tours can be tailored to what you are currently teaching in Michigan history, and our tour guides can tell your group many additional stories.

For field trips and Time Machine lessons, check out our website: castlemusem.org/education or contact Kristi at 989-752-2861 ext. 311 or you can email her at kfurtaw@castlemuseum.org.

Upcoming Programs at the Museum

For visitors of all ages, we have periodic STEM Days. Our next one is all about optics and photography, which ties to our exhibit A Wider View of Saginaw: The Panoramic Views of the Goodridge Brothers. Drop-in and join SVSU Physics for hands-on activities on Sat., Sept. 17 from 10:30 am – 1:00 pm.

For our youngest visitors we have Preschool Storytime every first and third Thursday of the Month. Our young friends can listen to stories related to different exhibits or times of the year and then complete a hands-on activity.

**Castle Museum of Saginaw County is a participant in the STEM Passport App.  Download app to learn more about the organization and other upcoming events 

Learn more: https://bit.ly/STEMpassport2022