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(Calumet, MI) Keweenaw National Historical Park celebrated Every Kid in a Park with nearly 600 fourth grade students visiting the park this week! Each day, students came to Calumet and attended the Copper TRACES which stands for Technology, Research, Art and Music, Community, Environment, and Service. Station leaders taught students and adults about geology, pollinators and bees, sorting and mining copper, invasive lampreys, land-use and planning, strawberry farming, primary sources, immigration, volunteer firefighting, food chains, Great Lakes shipping, quarrying Jacobsville sandstone, using maps and photos to locate missing buildings, and the Copper Range railroad.
Students from as far away as Crystal Falls, Watersmeet, Ishpeming, Ontonagon, and Baraga joined local schools from Chassell, Houghton, Dollar Bay, Hancock, Lake Linden, and Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw. Each day, the students rotated through activity stations that were run by heritage site volunteers and staff, local community organizations, park rangers, and university students and staff. Everyone loved the event! The days concluded with tired but smiling students as they rattled off their favorite activities and promised to return to the park with friends and family this summer.
Copper TRACES was made possible by a transportation grant from the National Park Foundation for a second year in a row. Other contributors and supporters included: Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association, Superior Graphics, Keweenaw Coffee Works, Finlandia University Catering, Calumet Township, Village of Calumet, Calumet Jr ROTC, the park’s Advisory Commission. To make this event possible, stations leaders representing 16 community organizations across the four counties and a team of volunteers, ensured everyone had a fun and safe learning experience.
For more information about Copper TRACES, please contact Keweenaw National Historical Park at (906) 337-3168 or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/kewe.
