To continue the celebration of the Benicia Historical Museum’s 25th Anniversary on Sunday, July 18 from 1-4pm, we will explore how Benicians and other Californians coped with everyday life as pioneers in the 1840s-1850s, the time of the building of the Arsenal.
Life was very different in those days – no electricity or running water, no supermarkets or automobiles. In the Museum’s program for 3rd and 4th grade school tours, students take part in chores that would have been necessary to their lives and those of their families.
The chores include doing laundry using large buckets and scrubbing boards, then rinsing and wringing out the clothes and hanging them on a clothesline. Our visitors will also take part in grinding corn, hauling water, roping steer and making adobe bricks. Pictographs and painting on stones provide take-home souvenirs.
In addition, bird and reptile visitors from the Suisun Wildlife Rescue Center will be on display, as well as animals from local agencies.
The Museum with the new Patwin Indian Exhibit, the Industrial Exhibit, and the
Powder Magazine will all be open and refreshments will be available. Admission is free and open to all.
