A Step Back in History

When I walk into a museum, I feel a wave of enchantment, mystery and a twinge of excitement come over me. I feel as though I have stepped into a new world and am walking through each era, discovering new facts. I love seeing old artifacts, reading about how people from the past lived, learning about their ingenuity and techniques. 

Today we took a trip to the local museum. Gabe wanted to  document the trip by taking pictures, but the museum wouldn't allow taking pictures unless it was for a school project. Of course we could count it as a school project, even a trip to the store can be field trip!

 We started with learning about the local indian tribe, the Karankawa's.

The Karankawan Indians lived in small bands made up of about 40-50 people. They lived close to the ocean and were good fishermen. They would rub fish oil on their bodies in summer to repel the mosquitoes, but the smell also kept other Indian tribes away! In 1680, there was an estimated amount of 8,000 Karankawans, but by the year 1840, the tribe had been wiped out.

 

 

Next, we learned about the Abner Jackson Plantation. Abner Jackson owned most of the land in the area, and had three large plantations. His plantations supplied sugar and cotton.

 Matilda found it interesting how the slaves made their own bricks.

 

This is a painting of the Abner Jackson Plantation, before it was destroyed by a hurricane in the year 1900. 

Hagen is a marble collector, so she enjoyed these marbles that were found when the old plantation was excavated.

Next up was the DOW Chemical plant. We knew a little about it, because there are huge plants by the ocean, but we learned more about Herbert H. Dow and his company.

The first magnesium ingot was poured on Jan. 21, 1941. It was the first magnesium ever extracted from sea water.

People came to work in the new plants.

 I love this picture from the 50's of a family and their camper!

 

 There was also a small exhibit on hats from the 50's.

 And lastly, we learned about a local dentist who designed and built this plane using epoxy resin. Later, he donated it to the museum.

 We enjoyed our visit to the museum, there is always more to learn! By the way, Gabe took most of these pictures. He's getting pretty good!

Have a good night, and stop by for tomorrows post!

Blessings,

Layla & Hagen