Museum members and staff had a great time walking in the recent Elk’s Rodeo Parade, meeting hundreds of Santa Maria families along the route. Rodeo, barbecue, and the ranching life are a big part of our Santa Maria-area culture, which is alive and well in the Our Valley exhibit at the Discovery Museum. We invite you to come on down and experience the wild, wild West with fun hands-on activities that explore the science and history of farming.
The Rancho Pasquini barn and bunkhouse is home to the R.H. Tesene BBQ Hall of Fame, with displays of dozens of family brands and the history of Santa Maria-style barbecue. Kids can put on a pair of cowboy boots and a hat and wander through our working barn filled with saddle parts, bits, belt buckles and ranching tools. Cowboys and cowgirls can take a “ride” on a rocking horse and a real John Deere tractor, and then sit around the campfire to brew some coffee or cook up stone soup at the chuck wagon. After a long day on the range, settle into the bunkhouse for a game of checkers.
The Santa Maria Valley is famous for its fertile soil, and Plantel Nurseries keeps the museum stocked with valley vegetable transplants through all the planting seasons. Broccoli, cauliflower, red lettuce, and celery are just a few of the cash crops nourishing our valley economy and the museum planting station. So grab some dirt and plant, water, and take home a seedling to start your own backyard garden.
We are always looking for additions to the Our Valley exhibit, so keep the museum in mind if you have artifacts, modern tools, or ranching supplies that can add new life to our exhibit areas—particularly materials that help demonstrate the science of farming.
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Check out our Facebook page at smvdiscoverymuseum for daily tips on fun things to do with your kids.
Chris Slaughter, executive director for the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum, wrote this week’s Discovery Corner, a weekly column in the Sun highlighting events, science activities, and more for the museum at 705 S. McClelland in Santa Maria. Send comments to discoverycorner@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 5-12, 2014.
