Napervile kids learn about early explorers

Lewis and Clark faced wild animals and natural disasters.

But at least they weren't feeling the heat from 28 middle school campers.

"Ride like the wind!"

"Jump like you've never jumped before!"

"The pony has rocket boosters!"

The shouts rang out over the grounds of Naper Settlement in Naperville as students in the living history museum's Treasure Hunters camp went through obstacles of their own to get a feel for what early explorers faced.

Campers hopped with gunny sacks around their feet, galloped on hobby horses, balanced eggs on a spoon and completed a ring toss while their teammates cheered them on.

Camp counselor Lauren Dobby said the settlement wants children to enjoy learning.

"You sugarcoat everything with excitement and fun activities and games and that really reinforces what we're trying to teach them," she said.

Before the obstacle course they talked about Lewis and Clark's journey.

"I learned I didn't know Lewis and Clark had that many obstacles when they did it and that the Indians didn't like them," fourth-grader Paige Suchevits said. "I thought they just met Sacagawea."

Next up that morning was a scavenger hunt, going from historic building to historic building searching for clues.

For example, "You might need me to do a chore, but a wicked witch uses me to soar, (Log House)" led them to the broom in the cabin.

Janet Taylor from the museum later gave students a tour of the Log House and told them about the early settlers who came to Naperville from Ohio with Capt. Joseph Naper.

"Water was nearby, soil was good to grow very good food and they had wood for their log houses, which was going to be their temporary house," Taylor said.

Throughout the week campers also were scheduled to use hand-held GPS devices, mine for gold nuggets and make their own compasses. Along with Treasure Hunters, the settlement also runs an Adventures in Time camp throughout the summer. For more information on the camps, visit www.napersettlement.org.

"I wanted to come to camp because I really like Naper Settlement and what they have here," fifth-grader Kendall Bahl said. "I like all the old buildings and I just like learning about history here and it's intriguing to see what they had and how it changed to fit our needs."