Almost 30 Crestview area home-schooled students and a handful of moms plunged into the Hub City’s history the afternoon of Sept. 22 during a visit to the Crestview History Museum at the Bush House by the NWF Share organization.
During their enthusiastic participation in a “Hunt for History” scavenger hunt, not only did the city’s fascinating history capture their attention, but the historic Bush House’s story — and some of the home’s secrets — did as well.
“This place is kinda cool!” said Conner, a Crestview resident, while his pal, Nolen, from Shalimar, added, “It’s a really cool restoration.”
Following a brief history of the house presented on the broad front porch, the scavenger hunt inside took the kids to displays covering topics such as Crestview becoming the county seat, the local shooting of “Twelve O’clock High,” the various public services city father Purl Adams brought to town, and even Crestview’s Sister Cities International relationship with Noirmoutier, France.
The bonus question stumped some of the kids, but not for long. NWF Share homeschoolers are taught problem solving, after all! They learned the museum’s logo was derived from a corbel, but just what is a corbel? A hint suggesting, “maybe it’s outside,” led the students outdoors, where, when at last they looked up, they found the distinctive decorative wooden brackets gracing many of the house’s eaves.
“I love this place!” Rheanna said. “We had fun here.”
The visit culminated when the kids turned in their scavenger hunt answers and two winners were randomly chosen from those with at least 10 correct answers — which, not surprisingly, were all of them. Naomi, from Holt, and Anthony, from Crestview, each won a gift certificate to Tom’s Ice Cream on Main Street.
But even sweeter was their newfound knowledge about the Okaloosa County seat’s history.
WANT TO SCHEDULE A GROUP VISIT?
Groups of all ages are welcome to visit the Crestview History Museum at the Bush House, 198 S. Wilson St. To schedule your group’s visit, call Brian Hughes, Crestview Cultural Services specialist, at 850.398.5459, hughesb@cityofcrestview.org. The museum is open Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is closed 12:30-1:30 p.m. for lunch.
Original source can be found here.
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