Kids Can Try Out Cowboy Life in New Exhibition Joshua’s JourneyOctober 8, 2005 to January 22, 2006
at the Canadian Children’s Museum
Gatineau, Quebec, October 5, 2005 — Children can experience cowboy life starting this Saturday, October 8, 2005 at the Canadian Children’s Museum, with the opening of the new exhibition Joshua’s Journey: A Black Cowboy Rides the Chisholm Trail, based on the Scholastic Dear America® / My Name Is America book, The Journal of Joshua Loper, A Black Cowboy, by Walter Dean Myers. Visitors can get a taste of life on the open range as they join Joshua Loper: a 16-year-old cowboy on his first cattle drive from Texas northwards. Youngsters can hone their cowboy skills as they learn about another time, place and way of life that is important to North American history, and which still has deep appeal to children today. Joshua’s Journey: A Black Cowboy Rides the Chisholm Trail opens Saturday, October 8 at the Canadian Children’s Museum, inside the Canadian Museum of Civilization, until January 22, 2006.
Exhibition Overview
Focussing on a small slice of American history known as the trail-drive era, Joshua’s Journey introduces youngsters to life on the Chisholm Trail. Visitors follow the adventures of Joshua as they share in the hardships, struggles and joys of a true cowboy. The exhibition, and the fictional diary it is based on, demonstrate the ethnic diversity, rarely shown in western movies, that is truly part of historic cattle drives from the late 1860s through the 1880s.
Exhibition Features
Before beginning the trail ride tour, visitors learn about the young cowboy Joshua, and read excerpts from his personal journal. Showcases display genuine gear and clothing that enabled cowboys to work and survive on the trail, such as a Mother Hubbard saddle, bridle, rope, Navaho saddle blanket, and canteen. A Stetson hat, branding irons, large rowel spurs, boots, and shotgun chaps help bring Joshua’s story to life.
Ranch Life
Life on the ranch required hard work and unique skills. This stop on the journey provides visitors with a taste of ranch life, past and present. At the Try-On station, children can don Western hats, boots, chaps, bandanas and work shirts. The Branding Area reveals the importance of branding cattle and the history behind the practice, and kids can re-create a famous brand or produce their own using magnetic shapes. In the Rope a Calf area, visitors can rope a runaway dogie (a young calf), from atop a stationary horse.
On the Trail
Life on the trail was challenging. Through Joshua’s journal, visitors gain an understanding of the long, gruelling days Joshua experienced as a trail hand, and the social aspects of trail life. At an authentic Chuck Wagon, kids can act as cooks as they prepare coffee, organize ingredients and prepare dinner at the chuck box. Children can gather around the “campfire” and listen to the sounds of the prairie at twilight. The bravest cowpokes can even try riding a life-sized Bucking Bronco.
Legacy
Cowboys are not just figures from the past. Many people in North America and elsewhere still practice and live the cowboy way of life. Inside the Legacy “barn” visitors can view a video and read a variety of books providing insight into historical and modern cowboys and cowgirls.
Exhibition Background
Joshua’s Journey was created by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, in partnership with Scholastic, the Youth Museum Exhibit Collaborative, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, and the Cattle Raisers Museum. The Canadian Children’s Museum is the only Canadian member of the nine-museum Youth Museum Exhibit Collaborative, which produces high-quality educational travelling exhibitions for children across North America.
FACT SHEETS
Media Information:
Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7167
Media Relations Officer
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7169
Fax: (819) 776-7187
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