When life gets hard, just imagine living it during the Ice Age!
In celebration of Ohio Archaeology Month, Sunday, Oct. 18, will drive this point home with three opportunities at The West Woods Nature Center to learn about Ohio’s earliest known human inhabitants: the Paleoindians who pioneered our region with the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the Ice Age.
From 1 to 4 p.m., families are invited to Ice Age Ohio’s Paleo People for a series of hands-on activities to introduce families of school-aged children, teens and adults to Paleoindian skills: try out a spear-thrower, see a flint-knapping and fire-by-friction demonstration and make a flint scraper; play a caribou hunting game; barter for essential materials in a Stone Age swap meet, and take part in a simulated archaeological dig to uncover Paleo-Indian artifacts. Most activities will be wheelchair/stroller accessible.
From 3 to 4 p.m., sit down with Archaeological Society of Ohio member Mike Fath as he presents Tool Time: Stone Age Handyman’s Special, his remarkable collection of genuine Paleoindian flint artifacts that he will relate as a specialized “tool kit” for working wood, bone and hides. The talk is geared for older children to adults. Participants are welcome to bring in their Indian artifacts for identification. This program is wheelchair accessible.
And finally, from 4 to 5 p.m., join Cleveland Museum of Natural History Archaeologist Dr. Brian Redmond for Living in the Ice Age: Ohio’s Earliest People, an overview of Paleoindian lifestyle describing some key Ohio archaeological discoveries, rare artifact finds and that have revealed ancient artifacts and evidence of animal butchering present on well preserved bones of Ice Age animals including mastodons and a giant ground sloth. Wheelchair/stroller accessible.
Two more Ice Age-themed programs will also be hosted this fall: Ice Age Authentic or Mammoth Malarky on Sunday, Nov. 29, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., held in a fun game show format, and Family Ice Age Escapades on Sunday, Dec. 27, from 1 to 4 p.m., revisiting popular activities from this year’s Ice Age programs such as glacial pebble collections, animal ink printing, a Paleoindian bartering game and a mini mammoth bone dig – with a special appearance by Harry the Mammoth.
Remember, Return to the Ice Age, a special exhibit featuring real Ice Age-era bones found in Geauga County, remains up at The West Woods Nature Center through year’s end. Check it out while you’re attending one of these programs, or make a plan to visit any day between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. with the upcoming exceptions of Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Registration is not required for any of these free programs; just call 440-286-9516 with questions.
This article is brought to you by Geauga Park District
