Last year we were delighted to attend the Shawnee Town 1929 Fall Homeschool Day! This year it’s this Friday, Oct. 15.
The museum is a division of the City of Shawnee’s Parks and Recreation Department. It’s designed to immerse visitors in the experience of “a typical day in and around the farm community of Shawnee, Kansas” in the 1920s.
In the fall, homeschoolers on Homeschool Day can attend either a morning session from 10 a.m. to noon or an afternoon session from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Reservations must be made in advance.
With a special admission price of $2.50 per person (children under 2 can come for free), it’s no wonder that both morning and afternoon sessions sold out quickly!
Our Shawnee Town 1929 Homeschool Morning Experience
We started our tour at the barber shop. The barber there told us all kinds of interesting information, including the news that women and children would probably not have come inside until much later in the 1920s. Before the “bob” became popular, women usually cut their hair at home!
Then we went on to the one-room schoolhouse and grocery store, where we learned that shopping carts would only come later. A clerk would follow you in the 1920s – “like having your own personal shopping assistant!” – with a basket to help you stock up.
Before we left we had stocked up on toilet paper (9 cents per roll), bread (9 cents), Quaker Oats (18 cents) and canned bean sprouts (35 cents). The bean sprouts were not a big hit with the young ones in our audience!
Finally we made our way to the farmstead, where we got to wash laundry with old-fashioned boards, pump water, feed some very plump chickens, and even help out with the garden.
While museum staffers said the programs were designed more for school-age children, “we do get little ones that come with their siblings and have a good time as well.”
“We won’t turn anyone down for being too young or too old!” the museum wrote on its Facebook event for the morning session. “We welcome everyone!”
Overall, we enjoyed our Shawnee Town 1929 Homeschool field trip and give it two thumbs up! 🙂
We originally published this blog post, now updated for timeliness and detail, in October 2017.
Enjoyed this field trip review? Check out our list of field trip ideas here.