Registration Opens for Summer History Camp
Registration is now open for the 2024 Summer History Camp for children ages 9-12. The camp is offered by the Madison County Historical Society (MCHS) in partnership with the Madison County Regional Office of Education #41. The camp will be held July 15–18, 2024, from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. daily.
Campers will experience four days of field trips and exciting educational activities that follow the theme “Fun on the Frontier.” Each day begins at the Center for Educational Opportunities in Troy, Illinois, before heading out for daily trips to regional historic places.
The 2024 schedule includes a look at the early days of Madison County through visits to the homes of several early founders, with interactive indoor and outdoor activities and fun hands-on experiences.
Campers will be able to step into the lives of children and families who lived on the Illinois frontier in the early 1800s. The camp is designed and staffed by professional teachers and educators. School buses with experienced drivers will transport campers to their daily destinations.
This year, the history camp will kick off with a visit to the Glen Carbon Heritage Museum for activities which will put them in the roles of historian and detective as they search for clues to solve a mystery. The next stop is a fieldtrip to Glen Carbon’s Yanda Log Cabin for a tour and outdoor activities followed by a trip to the Madison County History Museum.
Day Two will take campers to Greenville, Illinois, where they will visit the Marcoot Jersey Creamery, a seven-generation Swiss dairy farm. Marcoot specializes in the production of award-winning cheeses.
Campers will get a close-up look at Jersey cows, visit the calf barn, enjoy cheese samples, and receive a special treat at the end of the farm tour. The afternoon will take them to Hill’s Fort, a reconstruction of the fort documented in 1806. Rangers from a War of 1812 re-enactment group will interact with the campers at Hill’s Fort, where the children will also be able to explore the various buildings on the grounds of the fort.
On the third day, campers will explore the home life of children in frontier settlements during pioneer times, with a morning visit to the Colonel Benjamin Stephenson House. Campers will get hands-on experiences in four different activities at the Stephenson House and learn about the history of the different types of people who lived and worked at the house, and what a child’s life was like in the early 1800s. In the afternoon, campers will visit historic Oakdale Estate, a plantation-style house on a farm near Grantfork, Illinois. Oakdale has been in the same family since 1836.
On the final day of camp, a field trip to the Museum at the Gateway Arch will allow campers to explore the expansion of early frontier settlements and the importance of St. Louis in the development of Madison County through a shared waterway and the development of roads and railroads leading to the city.
The registration fee of $150 includes snacks, transportation, entry fees, and educational materials.
Campers are asked to bring their own sack lunch daily. Registrations for all ROE summer camps open on April 1 at https://roe41.org/page/student-events. For questions about registration, contact Rachel Lewis at rllewis@madisoncountyil.gov or call 618-296- 4535. Additional information can also be found on the MCHS website at https://madcohistory.org/.
