Junior historical society to discuss plans for year

The St. Charles Junior Historical Society will hold its first meeting of the year from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26, at the St. Charles Heritage Center, 215 E. Main St. in downtown St. Charles.

The schedule for the upcoming year will be discussed including plans for an overnight at the museum and field trip. Welcome bags will be handed out and representatives from Comcast will be there to help welcome members to the group. Anyone is welcome to attend.

The Junior Historical Society program has been honored by the Illinois Association of Museums for its outstanding programming and is recognized as a benchmark for other similar programs.

The Junior Historical Society is a group for students from 8 to 13 years old. It meets once a month, during the school year, at the Heritage Center and the members participate in a variety of activities.

In the past, members have gone on walks through one of the oldest cemeteries in town and heard the stories of the town founders buried there, they have learned how to take oral histories from family members to preserve family memories, they have put together scrapbooks to preserve their own memories, and they have learned about various aspects of St. Charles history and produced exhibits.

Last year, members spent the night at the museum for a program and each year the group takes a trip to a Chicago or other Illinois museum. Last year, the group traveled to Springfield for the day to visit New Salem, the Old State Capitol and the Lincoln Presidential Museum.

The group is open to any students interested in history and museums. Previously membership dues and other activity fees were collected from each member, however thanks to a very generous grant from Comcast there will be no charge for membership in the Junior Historical Society or for any of the programs/activities this year.

For information about Comcast and their Comcast Cares initiative, visit comcast.com.

The St. Charles Heritage Center operates the St. Charles History Museum and Gift Shop at 215 E. Main St. The museum and gift shop are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For information, call (630) 584-6967 or visit the website www.stcmuseum.org.

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