Things to do in Bentonville: The Museum of Native American History

We had a really great Spring break just staying in town. This post tells about the majority of our week. On Friday, we visited a local museum (more on that below), tried our new Chipotle, and watched more March Madness. Hasn't the tournament been insanely great this year?! So many upsets! Saturday, B Boy had a birthday party for a friend at Fast Lane. He was in heaven riding go karts, playing lazer tag, and arcade games. When we returned home, we all went to walk the Crystal Bridges trail and enjoy the beautiful weather. Yesterday, we had church and then just cleaning up around the house and relaxing. The kids have been crazy about riding their bikes since they learned how. I love it!!!!!

Bentonville contains a rare gem. That gem is the Museum of Native American History. 

This place has been on my list for a long time, but we just never got around to visiting. 

I wasn't sure what the deal was with it, or honestly, how good it would be.

Well, let me calm your fears. It was awesome! It was totally way more than I expected. And it has free admission!

So. First off, kids can find arrowheads in the rocks outside and they get to keep one for free. You can also buy arrowheads inside.

My kids are 7 and 8. I thought it was the perfect beginning age for this museum.

It is pretty big and took us about an hour to go through it.

You get a handheld device and you push in the number of each exhibit to hear a little bit about each one.

C Girl was so into this part.

I was in awe of how many artifacts this place held and how old some of them were.

We are the kind of people who love museums and I'm so happy that we finally experienced this one!

I won't bore you with the tons of pictures I took, but I did have to share some, because I just want to share how awesome I thought this museum was!

a showcase, an anniversary, and a play

The end of the school year is coming to a close.

It does make me sad in the fact that my babies are getting older.

BUT.

Hot dog, I'm looking forward to summer!!!

To have days without stuff on the calendar makes me ridiculously happy.

So, this is another long post.  #sorry #notsorry

I've probably mentioned it before, but our district started a 21st century classroom program last year.  It is a grant that teachers could apply for and if they were chosen, they would receive a classroom set of technology.

Last year, C's teacher applied and was a recipient!

We already had planned for B Boy to be in her class, so it was neat that he would get to be a  part of this great new thing!

Grades K-2 receive iPads and all grades above receive laptops. 

The recipients for this year's grant are actually being awarded this morning!

With last year's and this year's recipients, our district will have 47 21st century classrooms next year!

This past Tuesday evening, our district had a Technology Showcase to let these classes show off what they have used the technology for this year.

B Boy participated in his class's station.

Using his iPad that he used all year

Presenting his weather book that he wrote and illustrated online to our assistant principal

The class project was based on learning about weather.  They blogged, had a meteorologist visit, wrote books online and lots more!

Yesterday was our 10 year anniversary, so we actually got to spend the day together kid free!

We finally got the opportunity to visit the Norman Rockwell exhibit that is at Crystal Bridges Museum until May 27th.

I didn't know what to expect, but I loved every minute of it!

 It took us almost two hours to look through the entire exhibit.  I could have easily stayed longer.

First of all, his paintings are wonderful.  

Secondly, to me, it is almost insane to be able to stand right in front of the actual paintings that he painted.

Thirdly, I was shocked at how many covers of the Saturday Evening Post that he had painted for.  They had every single issue that he had done in the exhibit.  It was 362 of them or something.

Fourth, his broad range of styles is very impressive. 

The paintings that he is most known for are the iconic Norman Rockwell style from the covers of the Saturday Evening Post.

But, he also did portraits of presidents, portraits of actors/actresses for movies, true historical paintings, and paintings for propaganda poster or advertisements.

His paintings are so detailed and some are so life like.

I love how a lot of the paintings depict a small moment during regular life.

He used models for his paintings, did lots of research, and did sketches and drawings before he even started a painting!

So, there is your history lesson for the day!

This was one of my favorites-

A Christmas Homecoming -Norman Rockwell, 1948

Last night, B Boy had his end of the year kindergarten Bugz play. 

C Girl had the same one last year.

and now I've watched the videos from last year and am boo hooing!

Sweet little army ant

Such a cute play yet again!

Can I please bottle him up and keep him at this age?!!!

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

We visited Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art a few weeks ago. 

 It opened in our community on 11-11-11. 

The museum was founded by Alice Walton and designed by Moshe Safdie. Admission is free through donations from the Walton Family Foundation.

I feel so blessed to have a museum of this caliber in our back yard.  

We had a fantastic time as a family viewing the art.  We will have to go back again because it was too much to see as we were only there a little under 2 hours.

It is definitely a "must see" venue when traveling to Bentonville!

The museum's permanent collection features American art from the Colonial era to contemporary work. Notable works include a Charles Willson Peale portrait of George Washington as well as paintings by George Bellows, Jasper Cropsey, Asher Durand, Thomas Eakins, Marsden Hartley, Winslow Homer, Eastman Johnson, Charles Bird King, John LaFarge, Stuart Davis, Romare Bearden,Norman Rockwell, Mary McCleary and Walton Ford. Also included are works by Chuck Close, Jasper Johns, Norman Lewis, Alfred Maurer, Jackson Pollock and Tom Wesselman. [source]

{THE ART}

*this is only a small sampling of the wonderful works of art, we didn't even get to see everything!*

The Lord's Supper (Medium- spools of thread)

{THE ARCHITECTURE}

View from an overlook of a gallery wing

{CHILDREN'S AREA}

be creative...
an area for kids to make their own art

Stepping back in time

On Thursday afternoon, I took the kiddos to check out the Rogers Historical Museum.

It is a quaint little city museum that includes a changing exhibit (which happened to be storybook artwork this time), an exhibit about the history of Rogers, a section called Granny's attic and a place for the kids to learn about architecture and building.

We had a great time.  The kids were very intrigued by all of the "antique" stuff.

Wow! An old timey phone!

 Checking out the old fashioned stove

 Just typing on the typewriter!

 C girl making sandwiches for everyone!

I "built" the frame of a house!

 

B boy ready to tackle the job!