Centennial Treasures

OVERVIEW | Created for Oklahoma’s Centennial, these twelve “treasure trunks” are filled with activities for hands-on learning. Teachers check out the trunks and curriculum for use in their classrooms. Children compare cultures of Iowa Tribe families and Oklahoma pioneers, play with artifacts used by early Oklahomans, and learn about how families lived through stories, music, crafts, games, and dramatic play. Serves: Children ages 3-4 in preschools.

Centennial Treasures, a Museum Without Walls program targeting children enrolled in day care centers throughout Payne County has been freely offered since 2007. Centennial Treasures was designed to make the 100th birthday of Oklahoma (occurring in 2007) real and understandable for children ages three to six by offering play-to-learn activities.

Centennial Treasures consists of six trunks that are filled with objects of daily living used by people in Oklahoma and specifically Payne County 100 years ago. The contents of the trunks give children the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning activities such as making butter, piecing together a quilt, packing a lunch pail, learning about animal tracks, or making a dream catcher. A favorite trunk of many centers has been one containing period clothing for dress up including overalls, hats, boots, cotton dresses and bonnets.

The trunks and the materials inside include many donated items. Centennial Treasures was made possible through the generosity of local individuals and funding from OneOK, the PGA Tour Wives Association, and Smart Start Payne County.

"Smart Start Payne County enthusiastically supports the Centennial Treasures program which brings Oklahoma history to life for preschool-aged children in a fun, educationally enriching delivery system," said Regina Hall, then Director of Smart Start Payne County (currently Director of Stillwater Head Start)
On August 25, 2007, Centennial Treasures began with a kick-off event which included Tier 1 DHS approved training. Forty local teachers and child care center administrators participated. Dr. Bill Pennington, President of Murray State College and Oklahoma Historian, came in character to speak at the event. Dr. Pennington related stories about the uniting of Oklahoma and Indian Territory, the role of women 100 years ago, prohibition and what life was like in Oklahoma at the time of statehood. Teachers made a trade bead necklace, a trail-side snack, and a "Happy Birthday Oklahoma" card to display in their classrooms in anticipation of receiving their trunks.