Living History
Programs
The Last Days of Blades
Hold swords that defended freedom! And find out how a good blade is forged! In America, the sun set on edged weapons in combat in the continent's largest clash of arms - the Civil War. Swords and such have since become more about ceremony than survival. Yet back in the days when your life might lean on the strength of steel, sword designs had to be practical. But that practicality came in a myriad of forms - whether your role was on horses, behind canon, on fields, or on ships, or even musical - the blades fit the battle zone! Come and discover!
Living Animal
Programs
Invasive, Endangered,
& Dangerous
Invasive to what? Endangered how? Dangerous to who? Great questions with surprising and fascinating answers! Our human impact can flummox, fix, or fight the living things in our environment. What'll it be and what new things can you see that inspire you to love better, live better, or just live and let live better. Or maybe flee faster! This program includes 5-8 live animals. Come and discover!
Maidens of Unlikely Might
Strength. What does that look like? Brutish, boorish? What can love, and gentleness, and trust, and humility - and a sense of human dignity - combine to do what other forms of strength cannot? Come meet a first grader with cancer, an 11-year-old who forgave her killer, a disabled teenager abandoned by her parents, and a trio of 18-year-olds - one condemned by a king; one fighting for a wanna-be king, and one married to a king and caring for thousands of plague victims. Come and discover!
Animals with Superpowers
In the movies, people and creatures can do some dazzling things. But reality is more amazing than what the movies come up with! Don't believe that? Ever imagine that you'd admire a lowly rat, or find that a bird can imitate a bat, or that you can? This program includes 5-8 live animals. Come and discover!
Many Coins Ago
The days of coins and cash seem to be waning. But what about when shiny metal bits meant more? Of course coins were for buying your bread and such, but they were also about expressing sorrows and successes, about what was memorable and what was beautiful. And oh what secrets some of these little circles can reveal! Hold something truly rare. Come and discover!
Hunting at the Extreme
Not many animals out there die in their beds. Not many grow old. Not many walk around at leisure. But it's not all about violence and battle. The wild thing at full pitch is also thrillingly beautiful and vibrantly alive. Their stories of skill and striving are inspiring, and a great gift to see a creature at its best! This program includes 5-8 live animals. Come and discover!
In Between the Battleships
A day of infamy, a burning and dying battleship entombing an entire crew. A day of triumph, a burnished and youthful battleship hosting the end of a great war. Two US Navy battleships forming the bookends of the world's most brutal and far-flung conflict - the Pacific maelstrom of WWII. Come and touch this history, including artifacts from a member of the final crew of the storied USS Missouri, the world's most famous and last active battleship.
Amazing Adaptations
There's a worldwide arms race far older and more advanced than human militaries have come up with. And some of the greatest dramas unfold in your backyard, your nearest pond, and in the wide blue sky right above your head. There's no restraint, no diplomacy, but lots of allies and covert information sharing. This program includes 5-8 live animals. Come and discover!
Bullets & Bravery
Old ways of fighting, from an age when bullets could only be poorly aimed. New weapons in the fight, capable of stunning accuracy and reach. In the middle are men, striving in a new war to free or to enslave, to hold together or to break apart. See some of those war-changing weapons up close, meet one of those men up close. A good man in a terrible time, rising up to set a pattern for a new kind of American. Come and discover!
Secrets & Surprises Around
So many people get bored with their ways and days, their entertainments, their jobs, their next minutes and hours, even with the people around them. To be "all in" with life - engaged, alert, and expectant - seems distant, fleeting, unobtainable. Is this all there is? Come hook your caboose to something better. Let the world given to you awaken you! This program includes 5-8 live animals. Come and discover!