San Dieguito Heritage Museum Rolls Out Free Activites All Month

Editor's Note: The following news release is from the San Dieguito Heritage Museum.

The promise of a new life in the west led many pioneer families to brave the elements and risks of a treacherous journey. The experience was long and scary but children still did find ways to play and enjoy themselves.  

Without computers or video games, pioneer children had to use their imaginations to stitch their own dolls. They would use whatever they could find to create their dolls: socks, discarded rags, bottles, flowers, cornhusks, and even vegetables!

The dolls provided comfort and entertainment for many children. Come to the San Dieguito Heritage Museum during the month of May and create your own rag doll.

The Museum's exhibits will be open during the activity times with docents to guide you through the fascinating history of San Dieguito. With these new intergenerational activities, families in Encinitas will come to understand that they can visit the Heritage Museum on any weekend and know that new and while you’re at the Museum, check out our new Al’s Barbershop exhibit. See a recreation of the barbershop that was on Coast Highway 101 from the 1930s to the 1950s. See the antique chair and all the tools of the trade. Bring back your memories of that first trip to the barber.

Each weekend there will be free hands-on experiences that highlight a certain era of San Dieguito history. These activities will change monthly. The historic eras and corresponding activities may include:

• Native American period: rock painting and acorn grinding,

• Rancho Period: adobe brick making, cattle roping and soap making

• Pioneer Days: butter making, washboard clothes washing and quilt making

• Flower Growing period: seed planting, plant identification and plant dyeing

• Surfing and concern for ocean ecology: balsa mini-surfboard shaping, kelp cookie making and ocean awareness experiences.

For more information visit the Museum’s website at www.sdheritage.org.  Or call the museum office at 760-632-9711. San Dieguito Heritage Museum, 450 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas, CA 92024.

The free family activities at the San Dieguito Heritage Museum are held every Saturday and Sunday in May from noon to 4 p.m.