Turn back the clock at Heritage Park

This summer at Heritage Park, children have a chance to go to a science camp.

There’s a catch, however — they’ll be exploring “new” technology from the 1800s: steam engines, light bulbs, telegraphs and old-fashioned telephones, says Barb Munro.

“We take these things for granted now, but it gives kids a reminder that these things weren’t created all that long ago,” says Munro, communications specialist at Heritage Park Historical Village in Calgary.

“In the age of computer games and iPhones and iPads, it’s good to give them an idea of how far things have come and how quickly.”

Of course, every summer camp at Heritage Park lets children step back in time for a few days. The five-day science day camp will only be offered for four weeks in 2018, and is for youth ages 11 to 14. But the rest of Heritage Park’s camps are offered throughout July and August.

The History Hunter camps are for children ages six to eight, and the Time Travellers camps will be for children ages eight to 10.

Activities vary depending on the week and age group, but every activity is geared toward learning more about how Albertans lived in the not-so-distant past, 100 or so years ago.

“The kids collect eggs from our chickens. They make old-fashioned butter. They go on all the rides, and they go to class in our school,” Munro says.

Older groups will learn about the fur trade and get a chance to be “recruited” for the North West Mounted Police. They’ll spend time working with all the various farm animals, and they’ll try their hand at making old-fashioned ice cream, too.

There’s even a five-day overnight camp for children ages 11 to 14. They’ll sleep in bunks in the renovated Burns Barn, and they’ll get to do things that the day camp attendees don’t have time to try: build campfires, bake bannock, try their hand at blacksmithing, enjoy a barn dance.

And at night, they’ll listen to music on a gramophone, knit and play old-fashioned games.

While the science camp kids each receive a T-shirt to wear during their activities, all the other groups will dress in Heritage Park costumes.

“The little boys are in overalls and little plaid shirts and caps, while the little girls are in dresses with petticoats and pinafores and bonnets,” Munro says.

Children are even encouraged to bring their lunch in baskets, not plastic bags, with milk in glass bottles and sandwiches wrapped in cloth, instead of plastic.

Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, to hear that children aren’t allowed to use cellphones while they’re at camp. “They grumble a bit the first day,” Munro says. “But by the end of it, they don’t care because they’re having so much fun.”

Heritage Park summer camp registration opens on Feb. 13, and you can sign up online at heritagepark.ca or in person. Pre-camp care is also available.