“Hi, welcome to the Museum” is the friendly greeting Education Curator Teresa Woodard extends to visiting students and their teachers as they eagerly enter the foyer of the Museum. Students from Kindergarten through twelfth grades visit the Museum throughout the year for free curriculum-based programs focusing on local natural history, Native American culture and Riverside history.
Teresa Woodard, Danielle Leland and Kim Cobb are the professional museum educators who make the Museum come alive for the students. They are assisted by several enthusiastic docents who help make the Museum experience a great success. The volunteers on the school tour team include Sue Legner (who guides students through the photography exhibit on the second floor), Ginny Rudd (who assists with the Nature Lab) , and Carol Zuloaga, Thora Ziegler, Margie Quiroz, Jo Matza and Betze Snead, who assist with the scavenger hunt and other activities that relate to the tours.
In 2015, there were 85 guided and self-tours for students with close to 2,000 students participating. The tour options include “Geology: Rocks Are All Around Us,” “Nature Study,“ in the Museum’s Nature Lab, “Acorns, Walnuts and Willows: Connecting With Native Cultures,” “History on the Street: A Tour of Downtown Riverside,” and “Self-Guided Group Tours” for those that may not have enough time to participate in a guided tour. More information about the tours can be found on the Museum’s website.
The RMA takes pride in supporting these tours through volunteer participation and funding as requested. More volunteers are needed, and we encourage RMA members to become involved as a school tour docent. Please call Sue Weatherwax at 951-826-5114 and join this fantastic team. You will find it well worth your time!
Thirty-five orange trees loaded with luscious fruit, three ladders, and dozens of willing pickers make the arduous task of picking oranges doable.
The trees at Heritage House yield a very large and very sweet fruit and are a treat to eat. It would be a shame to let them go to waste. Wanting to make good use of the fruit and share it with others, we harvested the oranges and delivered them to Feeding America. On day one, Cesar, Jeff, Danny, and Robin harvested oranges, snipping them one by one from the tops of the trees of two of the four groves and delivered 1400 oranges to Feeding America. We would not have been so successful in this venture if it weren’t for the additional picking help we received. The following Saturday, day 2, Steve Mains joined the picking crew with able hands from Boy Scout Troop 90 and Troop 97, and UCR Circle K International students. Filling crates provided by Feeding America, the picking process was completed in just a few hours. In all, we delivered between 4500 and 4800 oranges. The oranges were destined to be offered at the produce markets offered at schools in the area to help ensure children are receiving healthy food options. Photos are courtesy of Brenda Flowers on behalf of the Museum, Robin Whittington, and Steve Mains.
our helping hands