Robidoux Row Museum brings students on westward expansion tour
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Robidoux Row Museum is giving elementary school kids a history lesson on an event that helped shape the United States today.
Rock Port Elementary students visited the museum to hear about westward expansion and build upon what they recently learned in class.
"We spent a lot of time learning about the Oregon Trail and the Santa Fe Trail, the Pony Express, just everything about moving west from the colonies and extending the United States," fifth grade teacher Danyal Coon said.
Coon found Robidoux Row Museum after researching what learning opportunities were available in the area.
"I knew that they had some great museums in St. Joe, and so this one popped up in my search, and I got to talking to the people that worked here, and it sounded like it would be a great place for students to come learn more about westward expansion," she said.
Exhibits in the museum give visitors the chance to learn about westward expansion through firsthand accounts of those who traveled west.
"Part of the purchase of Northwest Missouri was actually facilitated by Joseph Robidoux and some of his relations with the Native Americans," Museum Coordinator Michael Thomas said. "So I think some of that history should be brought to light."
Some teachers at Rock Port Elementary said, it's important to provide visual aids for their lesson on the history of western expansion.
"I think it's important for them to get hands-on experiences because those last a lot longer in your memory than just reading books about it, which is great too, but when you compare the two together, that's what really sticks," fifth grade teacher Ciara Hunter said.
The Rock Port Elementary tour wrapped up a busy week at the Robidoux Row Museum, which included a total of four tours.
"I thought I was going to have a sedentary position working in the museum, and it's been very active," Thomas said. "The museum has been very lively since it opened up (again in March)."
