Wagons Ho! for the Oregon-California Trail

4th Grade

What would you have taken as a pioneer on the California-Oregon Trail? This is your students' chance to find out first hand. Students on the Oregon-California Trail tour are assigned to actual families who traveled the trail. They must calculate what to pack for their journey and then load their wagons with supplies. Red wagons with canvas tops and model-size boxes and bags simulate the experience.

At Hollenberg Pony Express Station students will explore the visitor center, load their wagons, and then hit the (nature) trail. Along the way they will visit the historic Hollenberg Station, stop at the campground, and then return to the visitor center. . They will learn about life on the California-Oregon Trail through primary source cards. They will gain or lose points based upon their group's skill in packing and preparedness. Will all groups make it? Only those families with the required amount of points can claim victory and begin their new life out West.

Note: This tour is designed to take place at Hollenberg Pony Express Station and the nature trail. The tour cannot be conducted during inclement weather.

This tour fulfills grade specific standards and provides pre-and post-visit material to help teachers meet those standards.

History: Benchmark 1, Indicator 4: The student describes how communication and transportation systems connect Kansas to other regions, past and present (e.g., trails, Pony Express, telegraph, steamboats, railroad lines, highway systems, air transportation, Internet).

History: Benchmark 1, Indicator 5: The student compares and contrasts the purposes of the Santa Fe and Oregon-California Trails (e.g., commercial vs. migration).

History: Benchmark 1, Indicator 6: The student describes life on the Santa Fe and Oregon-California Trails (e.g., interactions between different cultural groups, hardships such as lack of water, mountains and rivers to cross, weather, need for medical care, size of wagon).

Economics: Benchmark 1, Indicator 1: The student knows that every spending and saving decision has an opportunity cost.

Economics: Benchmark 5, Indicator 2: The student analyzes the costs and benefits of making a choice.

Reading: Benchmark 3, Indicator 1: The student determines the meaning of words or phrases by using context clues (e.g., definitions, restatements, examples, descriptions) from sentences or paragraphs.

Reading: Benchmark 4, Indicator 7: The student compares and contrasts information (e.g., topics, character's traits, themes, problem-solution, cause-effect relationships) with one or more appropriate-level text(s) and identifies compare/contrast signal words.

Length of tour: approximately two hours, with a maximum of one tour per two hour period. Number of student in a group: for the best experience, we recommend no more than 30 students per tour Cost: $2 per student For registration information: contact Duane Durst, site administrator, 785-337-2635, at least two weeks in advance; hollenberg@kshs.org.