It's Not All Fun and Games

There is a lot still to be determined about what the next months will look like on the Trails of History. Governor Wolf's phased plan to ease the stay-at-home orders officially kicks in next Friday, although some recreational and construction activities start to open up today. We'll do our best to keep you posted on site schedules. The May program page lists no programs at this point, but it does contain a full list of links to Trails of History Facebook pages so that you can continue to enjoy our online offerings and get the latest info on reopening plans.

Some Trails of History sites are participating in an event called "Giving Tuesday Now" on May 5, which is an adjunct to the annual Giving Tuesday event the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. If you're able, this might be a great time to help your favorite Trails of History site with a donation.

So you're telling me it's May already? Wild. March went on forever, but April whizzed past me. I hope everyone out there is doing okay. As we've been noting over the past weeks, sites and museums on the Trails of History have stepped up on social media to provide entertainment and behind-the-scenes experiences during this very difficult time. I've shared samples of some of those social media offerings (see last week's post, for example).

To help myself keep track and to help show how much is going on, I've created "Trailheads Rec Room," which lives on the sidebar to the right of your screen in the "About Us" section. In the Rec Room you'll find a link for "Coloring Pages and Games," one for "Crafts and Activities" (be sure to check out the Morse Code posts between Erie Maritime Museum, PA Military Museum, and Railroad Museum of PA), and a third for "Jigsaw Puzzles and BINGO." The BINGO page includes three Trails of History bingo cards that you might want to take a look at, in addition to Bushy Run Battlefield's Bingo card. In coming weeks, my plan is to add a page for "Videos and Virtual Tours."

In addition to all this, many sites have also shared posts that delved into relevant historical themes and connected to our current concerns and situations. Here are some of my favorites.

Pennsylvania Lumber Museum provided a little something for those of us who miss baseball

Joseph Priestley House helped focus attention on scientists with a series of #SundayScientist posts

Graeme Park shared info about epidemics and quarantines in colonial Philadelphia

Pennsylvania Military Museum's blog has posted lots of military history topics, including an exploration of Metallica lyrics

Pennsbury Manor provided historical insights on Passover, Easter, and Ramadan traditions

And Drake Well Museum & Park started a conversation about oil prices