Old Independence Regional Museum to Host Free Heritage Month Tours
Old Independence Regional Museum was recently awarded a 2017 Heritage Month Grant from the Department of Arkansas Heritage. The theme for Heritage Month is A State of War: Arkansas Remembers World War I. Admission is free to qualifying groups (recommended 3rd grade and up). This hands-on tour will take approximately 2 hours and registration is required. There are a limited amount of bus stipends available, as well.
Groups scheduling during the month of May will have the opportunity to learn about World War I and its impact on our region and its people. During the program, participants will learn about aviation and its role in the war, mining in the region, food and voluntary rationing, the 1918 flu epidemic, and inventions. Participants will also be given time to visit the Museum Gift Shop. Every participant will get the opportunity to taste WWI era food and will take home a model wooden biplane.
Anyone interested in learning more about this free program can call the museum during regular business hours.
“This is an excellent educational opportunity and participants will leave with a better
understanding of the impact that the war had on the people of this region, state, and country”, said Vicki Garland, Humanities Educator. “I would like to encourage teachers and group sponsors to take advantage of this free tour for students and group members”.
This humanities program was made possible in part by a grant from the Department of Arkansas Heritage, funded by your 1/8 cent conservation tax, Amendment 75, 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.
Normal museum hours are: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 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. Telephone: 870.793.2121.
Old Independence is a regional museum serving 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 1820’s Arkansas territory.
