Caroline Kehne
Brome County News (reprinted with permission)

HISTORY TO GO
The Missisquoi Museum has redesigned its innovative Museum in a Box to be more teacher- and user-friendly, as well as more portable. The revamped 'museum' is now available for loan to schools who want to bring this hands-on approach to history into the classroom. The original Museum in a Box was a large, wooden box filled with objects representative of life in the 19th century.

The heavy case, like a large doll-house in the shape of the Cornell Mill, opened up like a tool-box, revealing layers of objects, organized by category, designed to make history more tangible to elementary-age children. The box has toured schools throughout the Eastern Townships (as far east as Sherbrooke and Bury). Its major drawback, according to museum curator Heather Darch, was the weight.

Summer student Rebecca Blinn, working on a Young Canada Works in Heritage Institution grant, redeveloped the concept to make the box lighter and more teacher friendly. The new Museum in a Box weighs significantly less than its predecessor (under 50 pounds). It is also contained in a sturdy cardboard box painted by volunteer Marguerite Brown to look like a brick building.

Inside, objects are organized by categories: clothing (including common items of clothing worn by 19th century Townships residents), chores (objects representing common household chores such as ironing, washing or housecleaning), school (objects used by young students, such as books, chalkboards and quill pens) and toys (common toys such as jacks, marbles, dolls and mechanical piggybanks).

Blinn, a History Major at Bishop's University, has also included an activities guide to aid teachers, including instructions on how to make a Museum in a Box, or how to organize a 'period' lunch featuring foods that settlers would found familiar to their tables.

The Museum in a Box is available for two-week loans to schools throughout the Eastern Townships at no charge. Schools must arrange for pick up and return of the box. For more information, contact the museum at (450) 248-3153.