BATESVILLE — The Old Independence Regional Museum in Batesville will host its fall Home School Day from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Oct. 1, with sign-in beginning at 8:45.
Registration and program fee are due by Sept. 28. Early registration fee $5 before Sept. 21 and $7 after that date.
The final deadline to register is Sept. 28, and registration is limited to 50 students.
Students will go off the beaten path into “Wild History,” exploring the balance between man and wildlife in the settling of Independence County. The sessions, each focusing on a new “E” word, will include lessons about white-tailed deer endemic to Arkansas, endangered bats, the successful reintroduction of extirpated black bears, and extinct passenger pigeons and Carolina parakeets.
Each participant will craft a bear claw necklace and a bat that sleeps, flies and eats.
“Homeschool day is a great opportunity for students to learn about new topics while exploring the museum,” said Humanities Educator Terri Crawford.
The students will be divided into five groups based on age and will rotate through each of the five sessions. This program is appropriate for elementary and middle school students.
Registration forms are available at Old Independence Regional Museum, 380 S. Ninth St., or by visiting www.oirm.org. For more information, call 870-793-2121.\
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.
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.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Lacy, 34, spent most of her life in the hills of Lawrence County. Today, she lives in Cave City, the home of “World’s Sweetest Watermelons,” in what’s known as the Prince Matlock house. Its former owner helped create what’s known as the Cave Courts where the city’s cave lies above the Crystal River. He fashioned his home out of the same rocks and materials that are found among the cave’s property, and she feels blessed to now be its caretaker for many more years to come.