Venue name: Harn Homestead, 1721 N. Lincoln Blvd.

Kid Reviewer: Sam Roldán, 9 years old

What made the experience stand out?

It connected what I’ve seen in school with what I saw at the Oklahoma History Center a few months ago and made it seem like real life. We visited the Oklahoma History Center and learned about the Land Run but I didn’t think about how that time would have been for regular people who lived here before Oklahoma was even a state. At the Harn Homestead, I started thinking about how people then had farm animals and kids who went to school and how they just did ordinary things like making food but in ways that were more complicated. It would have been really difficult to live at that time because you had to wash all the laundry by hand and there were no antibiotics or even phones really. I just didn’t think much about the people then as real people with families.  

What was the best part?

The experience of making things was what I liked best. We ground corn, practiced roping and made rope out of hemp strands, and pretended to milk mechanical cows. Our tour guide passed around herbs grown in the Homestead’s garden and let us guess what was what by smelling or tasting them. Trying the fresh mint and the stevia leaves was the very best. It also made me think about time and wonder what people will think of the year 2016 100 years from now and how different that will be. Someone will say I was their great grandfather then! 

What was the worst part?

It was too hot outside! I was so thirsty after walking all around. I mean, it was a pretty walk but three hours is a long time; I was really glad to have a cold drink later.

Will other kids like the activity and why?

Yes, I know for sure that they will because I visited with my five classmates from St. Mary’s Episcopal School. There are only six kids in my class, so I got to talk with everyone about it and they all had a good time. They liked it for the same reasons I did but also because they got to see the differences between school then and now. It’s more fun to go with five friends. 

Would this be enjoyed by your siblings? Why or why not?

My brothers are very small and they came with us. Isaac is 4 and Gabriel is 18 months. They were able to play and do things too; no one said they couldn’t. The history part will be there for them when they learn about it. Isaac had the most fun ringing the school bell! 

If you could go again knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

I would read a book about the people who settled Oklahoma. There’s probably a kid’s diary or something like that I could read to know more about what it was like to grow up then. I would also wear short sleeves! We dressed as cowboys to come on the field trip. The cowgirl dresses looked really hot too. Did cowboys always wear long sleeves and bandanas? Didn’t they get really hot? 

What do you think you,ll remember most about having done this activity?

I’ll remember going with my class and learning about how things were in the past. Also, my Mom got to come along. She had never been to one of my field trips before, so that was fun too. It was very different to take a field trip with my family there but kind of funny because that’s what people had in old times too: friends and family. 

[Editor's Note: Read all our Kid Reviews at www.metrofamilymagazine.com/Kid-Reviews/]