Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
All Scream For Ice Cream
Shiloh Saturday returns in virtual format
Don’t worry that Shiloh Museum’s Saturday program on making ice cream is happening virtually on Facebook Live. Among the things participants will learn is how to make homemade ice cream in a bag.
“A couple of our young volunteers, Henry and Seth, have worked with me to research the history of ice cream, and we will be presenting that information as we fill the freezer and start the process of churning the ice cream,” says Judy Costello, the museum’s education manager. “One of them, Seth, recently attended a food workshop and learned from a 15-year-old entrepreneur how to make ice cream in a bag, so he will take the lead on teaching this portion of the program so that viewers can make their own homemade ice cream.”
The museum, located in Springdale, has been closed since the covid-19 virus roared into Northwest Arkansas in March. Museum staff members have worked hard on maintaining their connection with the community, creating entire online exhibits and recording new installments of regular events like the lunchtime Sandwiched In.
“We have been focusing on making as many virtual programs available as possible [and] are trying to meet the audiences in many ways, such as Facebook Live, Zoom and pre-recorded videos,” Costello says. “We have had our Shiloh Saturdays program for families for a couple of years. It took us a couple of months after the pandemic started to get our act together for our virtual Shiloh Saturday programs, as we were focusing on our Shiloh Shout Outs and virtual history camps, but we finally decided it was time to put a virtual Saturday program out there.
“We are trying to offer options for activities for families during a trying time,” she adds. “The Facebook Live programs can be watched at the scheduled time or at any time that is convenient via the recorded event. We have had good results on views, especially when our young volunteers take the lead.”
Costello says on Saturday, she and her volunteers will be “acting as though our audience is in front of us, asking questions and pausing to let the audience think of their answers and possibly send us some emojis such as thumbs up for ‘yes’ or mad face for ‘no.’ The Facebook Live audience may send questions in the comments section, which we will try to answer.
“We try to engage the audience as much as possible,” Costello adds. “During Facebook Live programming we feel that it is important to be energetic, know where the camera lens is, zoom in on details, and encourage participation through emojis and comments from the viewers.
“At the end, we hope to partake in an ice cream social, socially distanced, which viewers can join virtually as they eat the ice cream they just made in a bag!”