A Sunny Day in Staunton

Last Friday we traveled to Staunton to visit the Frontier Culture Museum. With outside exhibits that show how people from England, Ireland, Scotland, and West Africa lived before they came to the United States, the Frontier Culture Museum is an awesome place to experience first-hand the different cultures that came together on the American frontier. We spent most of our time in the West African exhibit but we also visited the 1850's American farm. Look through our pictures below to read about our favorite experiences!

We enter the West African exhibit through an intricately carved wooden gate

Passing around a carved wooden bowl in the man's house

Enormous yams...a staple crop in West Africa

West African yams can grow up to 50 pounds!

See that clay and mud wall behind us?

In West Africa, one whole family would live inside this mud fence 

Building mounds for planting yams

This is what a real yam garden in West Africa would look like during planting season!

Using real West African tools to build a yam mound

Jackson and Rhyane find out yam gardening is hard work!

Jackson digs away...

"Breaking up the chunks of dirt was fun!" says Henry.

West Africans would own goats to use for food and for their hides

See the mortar and pestal? We used these to mash up black-eyed peas!

This is the woman's house where the wife would sleep with her children

Outside of a West African house

Brayden concentrates...

"This feels weird on my head," thought Kristina.

Henry makes sure his basket is balanced!

Jacob finds out this is a little harder than he thought!

"I felt like it was going to fall off!" says Ella.

Kirsten isn't so sure she likes that basket on her head

In the yard of the 1850's farm, we picked dandelion greens

"When they didn't have fresh greens from the garden yet, they had to pick
dandelion greens from the grass," says Jamaine.

In the field of the 1850's farmhouse...you can see our guide on
the left and the farmhouse on the right!

Celebrating LOTS of dandelion greens!

Mmmmm...fresh greens

Ella and Abby found lots of dandelion greens under one tiny dandelion

In the barn of the 1850's farmhouse

Angel sits on the draw-horse to shape a handle for a tool

"Are you sure I'm not going to cut myself with this blade!?" thinks Ginger
as she uses the draw-knife.

Sam carefully uses the draw-knife to shape the wooden handle

Andy concentrates on shaving tiny pieces at a time