Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

It doesn’t take long for children to figure out the “interactive room” at the Haines Sheldon Museum.

During a break in youth summer camp Monday morning, a half-dozen first and second-graders piled into a model tribal house, carrying in platters of foam salmon.

“We’re saving (the fish) for winter. In the winter comes a blizzard, so we have to save the fish,” said Pearle Paar, one of the young campers. Then, some campers cooked fish while others hooked more fish from aboard a boat attached to a nearby wall.

“They love the food and the fish and the boat,” said Jackie St. Clair, the museum’s education coordinator, who was leading the students in a lesson on hydrology.

Sited in a sloped-ceiling attic room previously used for museum archives, the 18 by 25-foot play room is a microcosm of the Chilkat Valley, with downtown streets laid out on the floor and Cathedral Peaks as a backdrop.

The room opened in January. As a spot that captivates children, it works, grown-ups said this week.

Kristine Harder has taken her granddaughters from Juneau three times. She compares it to the Imagination Studio at Seattle’s Children’s Museum.

“They have everything in the world. A fish camp and regalia you can wear. Fake salmon. Cook your own salmon. It’s a fabulous time,” Harder said.

Museum director Helen Alten said she had a dream of recreating the Chilkat Valley.

Volunteers helped. Ideas like felt blueberries attached to bushes with Velcro came from resident Julie Folta’s “clan house curriculum,” lessons Folta developed for the Juneau school district in the 1980s, using play to learn about culture.

Folta’s creations included a fabric salmon with Velcro belly and detachable, fabric “guts.”

Diane Sly built a child-sized smokehouse, clan house and pup tent. Borough planner Holly Smith contributed a blown-up map of downtown. Leanne Converse and others put multiple layers of varnish on a river made of paper strips, creating a three-dimensional effect. Lee Heinmiller loaned child-sized regalia from Alaska Indian Arts.

“The room is there for people to explore and learn. It’s also sort of a home-base for our summer camps, especially when the weather isn’t good outside,” said museum director Alten.

The room is open during museum hours, free for residents to use, and suited for children ages 3-10, with adult supervision. Alten said the room is just starting to catch on. “I’ve seen more grandparents and children. I don’t know if it’s on parents’ radar yet.”

Also, it’s still a work in progress. One wall will be exhibits created by the museum’s Junior Curators program. Folta said there’s room for more. “Who knows what they will add?”