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Any avid young reader may remember E.L. Konigsburg's
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, a
story about a 12-year-old girl and her younger brother who
run away from home to live at the Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York City. They sleep in a royal bed, hide in
bathroom stalls to avoid security guards, collect coins from
the fountain for vending-machine meals, and tag along with
school groups to learn more about the exhibits. And they
love it.
By preserving history, museums, like the Brazos Valley Mu-
seum of Natural History (BVMNH) in Bryan, Texas, allow
visitors to peek into the past, to curiously observe the lives
of people of different cultures, ancestry, values, and ways
of viewing the world. By hosting events and activities, the
BVMNH brings history to life. They present summer and
winter camps, nature and science programs, display exhibits
on a wide variety of topics including Texas and local history,
the sciences, natural and cultural history including indig-
enous peoples, and ice age and dinosaur fossils. They even
have displays of live animals in their discovery room.
Round Up Your Posse
Their largest fundraiser is the 8th Annual
Boonville Days Living History Fair, tak-
ing place on October 4-5. Showcasing
Brazos County's pioneer history,
the event features civil war re-en-
actments, cowboy music and
dance, and crafting activi-
ties to make corn-husk
dolls and pinch pots.
Exhibits and demon-
strations, like f lint-
knapping, pottery, and
blacksmithing, reveal
how pioneers lived.
The fair also includes
the 5th Annual Buf-
falo Stampede, where
runners will take their
marks on Saturday, October 5th. The half-marathon begins
at 7:30am, while the 5K run begins at 7:45am. The stampede
includes water stops, a DJ playing music along the course,
and race photography. Both races end at the BVMNH,
where families can enjoy the living history fair. Winners re-
ceive medals, trophies, and cash prizes by age groups.
Circle Your Wagons
To please that hungry palate, visitors can also enjoy the 2nd
annual Chuck Wagon Cook-Off, a unique and delicious com-
petition for amateur (or "seasoned") chefs of the frontier
variety. Each team receives enough ingredients to feed 40
ticket-holders and the judging panel, plus cooking occurs on
outside wood-fires to make it authentic. Winners receive cash
prizes for the tastiest dishes, including best meat, beans, and
cobbler. Teams also compete for the most authentic trail-
wagon, staying true to criteria like the brake system, chuck
box, and appearance of the wagon and team. The cook-off
is a two day event, spanning Friday evening through lunch-
time on Saturday, and is limited to 12 wagon entries. The
public is welcome to come Friday to watch the setup and
to see the wagon judging that
starts as soon as all the wag-
ons are ready, which can be
as early as 11am or as late as
3:30pm.
Museums refine us, edu-
cate us, and enrich our
lives in the present by re-
vealing the lives of the
past. So, unless you have
a buffalo in the backyard
or a fossil collection in the
hall closet, squint through
the telescope of time at the
Brazos Valley Museum of
Natural History.
For more information about the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History, call 979.776.2195, check them out
online at www.brazosvalleymuseum.com, or visit the museum at the Brazos Center, 3232 Briarcrest Drive in
Bryan, Texas.
By Emily Barnby
photos by Wayne Smith
photo by Don Smith
Elegant Lady
baroque Paisley
by David Adickes