Souris Valley Museum has a lot to offer for families this winter

ESTEVAN - The Souris Valley Museum started 2023 with many exciting programs and activities for their young patrons, and they have more coming up in February.

"There is so much happening for programs in February," said museum's director/curator Melanie Memory.

This month, the museum will invite their three to five-year-old patrons for History Sensory Wednesdays on Feb. 8 and 15 in the mornings. The program allows for fun learning about the past using kids' senses with touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. History Sensory Wednesdays also ran in January. 

The museum will also have its I Am Series on Feb. 17, exploring what it's like to be a doctor. Another program for those ages three to five, the When I Grow Up day camp, will be happening Feb. 10.

The museum will also have a No School Day Camp during the February break, from Feb. 21-23. The theme for that is Game On for those six to 10 years of age.

This winter they also have partnered with the Estevan Early Years Family Resource Centre. Once a month, Briana Robinson, education and outreach co-ordinator with the museum, is running a program called History & Play. It is for children and their caregivers, and invites them to come in to learn about the past in fun and engaging ways. The last time Robinson was at the family centre, children were learning about making butter, quilt art, pottery making, and clothes washing and drying.

Memory also said they are planning on bringing back some of the themes and programs the public liked before. 

"This year, we plan on bringing back some popular camp themes like Covert Op Training, Dino Dig, Lego Camp, Little Time Travellers, Pioneer Science and many more. We will also have some new camp themes in the works like Sunflower Power and Outdoor Explorers," Memory shared.

The January schedule at the museum was also busy with activities.

First on the 2023 agenda was a three-day camp, The Science of Snow, for six to 10-year-olds from Jan. 3-5. The participants learned about how snowflakes form, and how pioneers travelled in the snow with snowshoes. Children were able to make their own snow crystals and even made a pair of snowshoes to try themselves in the snowbanks outside around the museum.

For more information or to register a child to attend programs, parents are asked to go online to sourisvalleymuseum.com.