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Unexpected success

Creating a project like the Museum Tour is fraught with uncertainties. Will anyone engage with the spirit of the effort? Well, we were certainly surprised to find out that not just one, but two, families visited every single Museum that was in the Tour Guide. The project became the structure for their travels and productive time spent together. Here is the first story:

Hi Todd,

It was a pleasure to speak with you. The girls were happy to hear confirmation that we had won part of the prize. We have decided we will use our winnings for future museum admissions!

Early this spring our family was gearing up to relocate to the East Kootenays from Kelowna. We expected we would be driving back and forth across the Crows Nest several times. After some discussions we had decided that I would be incorporating museum visits along the route during these travels. Our intentions were set. As it would happen I would read on Castanet a week or so later about the Hwy 3 Museum Contest. We had already planned to visit half the sites anyway - it only made sense for us to GO FOR IT!

Exploring museums here in BC is one of my favorite activities to do with my children. As homeschoolers we often travel to museums, science and nature centers. At most museums we have had incredible learning opportunities that are engaging, hands on and personal. By way of scavenger hunts, prizes, dress up, building materials, sensory bins and drawers; we have found so many ways to make history and many other subjects tangible. Already avid museum goers we viewed the contest as an added a layer of fun that gamified our field trip checklist! It also expanded our travel plans.

The contest experience for us offered more than I expected in a few different ways.

First, by making it a wider landscape it really did broaden our scope of learning. We began picking up on similarities and differences between the museums from beadwork, main industry, taxidermy, the list goes on.

Second, was how much deeper our already close relationships could grow. Between my husband and I reminiscing with each other. Granny coming along during her visit and also sharing "remember when" and "we had/have one of those" stories, all prompted by something at a museum we realized we had so many stories that hadn't yet been shared.

Lastly, the most challenging part of the contest would be with respect to planning our visits. We quickly learned that there were many discrepancies in the posted museum hours and even when we double checked you could still be disappointed. We faced unexpected early closures due to staff shortages, excessive heat and power loss at certain destinations. At points we had to navigate through big disappointments and frustrations, back track at times, re-configure plans. Which is to also say we got to flex our mindsets, find solutions, and gain life skills. All of which was not what I expected from the start.

Look forward to the success and continuation of this type of project.

(Names withheld for privacy)