June 3, 2005 – Shirley Luna

Stone Fort Museum offering entertainment, education

East Texas school teachers may be thinking about their upcoming summer vacation, but employees of the Stone Fort Museum at Stephen F. Austin State University are making plans for the teachers' return to the classroom.

Pamela Moldenhauer, education coordinator, recently met with local history and social studies teachers to get input for the museum's new online resources and loan program. Trunks are being compiled with artifacts, lesson plans and activities in subjects as diverse as geology, Stone Fort history, geography, journalism and textiles. Schools can check out the trunks for use in their classroom.

"Teachers are looking for material that they can apply as integrated lessons," Moldenhauer said. "They want to have lesson plans that can pull math, science and language arts from one basic activity. It helps the students to have that continuity as they move from subject to subject, and our trunks are designed with this in mind."

Age appropriate activities and applicable Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills objectives will be included with each trunk.

The loan program, along with a new Web site, will augment the educational tours offered by the museum Tuesday through Fridays.

"School teachers say that bringing their classes to the SFA campus for a field trip is an educational bargain because of the wide variety of activities available in one location," Moldenhauer said. "Their students can tour the museum, the arboretum and the fine arts galleries, as well as attending shows at the planetarium. Since many of these activities are free, expenses are kept to a minimum."

As part of its commitment to community service, the Stone Fort Museum is planning a "Rockin' Reading" program beginning at 1 p.m. on Thursdays beginning June 9. Children are invited to hear a different story each week.

"We plan to have a checkers tournament for players of all ages later this summer," Moldenhauer said. "We also would like to form a 'Friends of the Stone Fort' group to help promote and sustain the activities at the museum."

For more information about the Stone Fort Museum and its programs, call 468-2408.