Quebec,
CA (October
5,
2005) --
Children can experience life as a cowboy starting this Saturday, October 8, 2005 at the Canadian Children’s Museum with the opening of a new exhibition Joshua’s Journey: A Black Cowboy Rides the Chisholm Trail, based on the Scholastic Dear America® / My Name Is America book, The Journal of Joshua Loper, A Black Cowboy, by Walter Dean Myers. Visitors can get a taste of life on the open range by joining Joshua Loper, a 16-year old cowboy on his first cattle-drive from Texas northward. They can hone their cowboy skills as they learn about another time, place and way of life that is important to North American history and has deep appeal to children today. Joshua’s Journey: A Black Cowboy Rides the Chisholm Trail opens Saturday, October 8 at the Canadian Children’s Museum, inside the Canadian Museum of Civilization, until January 22, 2006.
Exhibit Overview
Focusing on a small slice of American history known as the trail drive era, Joshua’s Journey introduces guests to life on the Chisholm Trail. Visitors follow the adventures of Joshua and share in the hardships, struggles and joys of a true cowboy. The exhibition and the fictional diary it is based on show the ethnic diversity, rarely shown in western movies, that is truly part of the historic cattle drives of the late 1860s through 1880s.
Exhibit Features
Before beginning the trail ride tour, visitors learn about the young cowboy Joshua, and read his personal journal entries. Showcases display genuine gear and clothing that enabled cowboys to work and survive on the trail, such as a Mother Hubbard saddle, bridle, rope, Navaho saddle blanket, and canteen. A Stetson hat, branding irons, large rowel spurs, boots, and shotgun chaps help bring Joshua’s story to life.
Ranch Life
Life on the ranch required hard work and unique skills. This stop in the journey provides visitors with a taste of ranch life — past and present. At the Try-On station, children can sport Western hats, boots, chaps, bandannas and work shirts. The Branding Area reveals the importance of branding cattle and the history behind the practice. Kids can recreate a famous brand or produce their own using magnetic shapes. In the Rope a Calf area, guests can rope a runaway dogie (a young calf), from atop a stationary horse.
On the Trail
Life on the trail was challenging. Through Joshua’s journal, visitors gain an understanding of the long, gruelling days Joshua experienced as a trail hand and the social aspects of trail life. At an authentic Chuck Wagon, kids can role-play cooks as they prepare coffee, organize ingredients and prepare dinner at the chuck box. Children can gather around the “campfire” and listen to the sounds of the prairie at twilight. The bravest cowpokes can try their hand at riding a life-sized Bucking Bronco.
Legacy
Cowboys are not just figures from the past. Many people in North America and elsewhere still practice and live the cowboy way of life. Inside the Legacy “barn” guests can view a video and read a variety of books providing insight into historical and modern cowboys and cowgirls.
Exhibit Background
Joshua’s Journey was created by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History in partnership with Scholastic, the Youth Museum Exhibit Collaborative, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, and the Cattle Raisers Museum. The Canadian Children’s Museum is the only Canadian member of the nine-museum Youth Museum Exhibit Collaborative which produces high-quality educational traveling exhibitions for children in North America.
About Scholastic Media
Scholastic Media (SM) is the entertainment and media division of Scholastic Inc., the global children's publishing and media company. A proven leader and innovator in the children's entertainment landscape and award-winning licensor and marketer of children's properties worldwide, SM ranks as one of the foremost producers of quality, family-oriented content for all platforms including television programming, feature films, home entertainment, interactive, and the Internet.
About Scholastic
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the Company's Internet site,
www.scholastic.com.