UPCOMING EVENTS
There are some fun things happening in 2021! Check back here soon!
PAST EVENTS
Ghost Walks: Stories of Murder, Mystery & Mayhem - Virtual Event
Did you miss our Ghost Walks or do you want to watch it again? No worries! You can watch the video here. We hope you enjoy the five true stories from Benton County of Murder, Mystery & Mayhem.
At Home Kid's Craft Corner: Gingerbread Ornament
|
Join us Saturday, December 19th at 2 p.m. on Facebook for a special holiday virtual museum program! Explore the history of gingerbread and how people once used holiday foods, such as cookies, nuts and berries, to make homemade Christmas tree ornaments. Then learn how to make your own gingerbread salt-dough ornaments at home to celebrate the holiday season, just like it was done in many Christmases of the past. Kids of all ages welcome! No registration required. |
How to Make a Gingerbread Salt-Dough Ornament
Supplies:
Instructions:
Supplies:
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup salt
- ½ cup cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon nutmeg
- ¾ cup water
- cookie cutters
- straw or other item to punch a hole with, like a pencil
- string or ribbon
Instructions:
- In a bowl, mix together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then slowly add your water. Once the mixture starts sticking together it might be easier to take it out of the bowl and place it on the table or counter and knead it until the consistency is smooth.
- Roll the dough out on a flat surface and then use the cookie cutters to cut out shapes. This can be anything you want. They can be the classic gingerbread men, snowmen, stars, trees, or anything else you want and you can use any size cookie cutters that you want as well.
- Once you have cut out the shapes, take your straw or pencil and poke a hole in the top of the ornament for the ribbon or string.
- Once you have all your shapes cut out and the holes punched in them, lay them somewhere to dry. This can take about 2, maybe three days since we are letting them air dry and not baking them.
- Once they are dry loop your ribbon or string through the hole so you can hang them up on the tree.
- You can also paint the ornaments too, once they are dry, if you want to give them a little something extra.
- Now you have your very own gingerbread ornaments to hang on your tree like people so long ago did!
Did you miss a previous At Home Kid's Craft Corner program? Don't worry, just click here to view our previous programs and join in the fun.
Hawkins House Guided Tour: A Victorian Culinary Christmas
|
For many families, the celebration of Christmas would not be complete without a feast and a selection of seasonal sweet and salty treats. Many of the foods and food related activities we associate with Christmas today, as well as some that have been lost over time, were being enjoyed by folks in our community over a century ago. The Hawkins House tour is designed to exhibit examples of family food traditions and holiday decorations popular at the turn-of-the-twentieth century in the Ozarks. The house will be decorated in traditional pine boughs and holly, old fashioned toys and of course a Christmas tree trimmed with a popcorn and cranberry garland. Stepping back in time, Mrs. Hawkins’ kitchen, her cooking methods and some of her Christmas menu choices may still be familiar to us. However, who today would consider for an entrée the now extinct passenger pigeon with chestnut stuffing or a side-dish of sweet pickled crabapples? If you missed seeing this exhibit in-person, or would like to see it again, click here to watch a virtual tour. |
