Pioneer Woman Museum

A trip to the Pioneer Woman Museum in Ponca City, Oklahoma, with two of our granddaughters was an enjoyable experience.  The girls got to see two weaving looms in use, and learned lots of new things about pioneer women who helped settle Oklahoma.  A rainy day during a week of RV camping gave us a good excuse to get out and spend an afternoon at the museum.  The museum itself is simply chock-a-block full of information about the life and experiences of early white settlers in OK.  The areas covered:  Fiber Art, An Oklahoma Woman – A Patchwork in Time and Space, Coming to the Cherokee Strip, Small Blessings, Heart of the Home, Living the Good Life, Out of the Kitchen, Into the Fire, A Cultured Life, Help from the Past, Hope For the Future, Breaking News – Oklahoma Women Journalists, Bending the Rules, Bound to Please, A History of Corsets,and last, but not least, there is the Education Room with a small display of artifacts.  We all enjoyed the time spent, and each had a particularly favorite display.  The older of our two granddaughters was very interested in the weaving demonstration and posed many articulate questions to the docent.  She also liked the Breaking News, Oklahoma Women Journalists section.  Her interest there was perhaps sparked by her father’s work as a journalist.  The younger girl really liked three of the areas – a Cultured Life with it’s fine collection of musical instruments, Bending the Rules with it’s list of preposterous etiquette rules and the adage that “well-behaved women seldom make history.”  That really appealed to her.  She also liked the gallery’s four flipbooks which gave information on the times and trends of notable Oklahoma women.  T-shirt souveniers rounded out their educational and fun day.  Hooray for camping with kids and a chance to share their enthusiasm and curiosity.  If you get a chance to visit Ponca City, OK, make sure to include a visit to the Pioneer Woman Museum.  There are many other sites of interest in and around this small city – The Standing Bear Museum, the Marland House and the Marland Mansion are just a few, and all worthy of a day each.  If you can manage to visit the Standing Bear Museum during a Pow-Wow, the scope and pleasure of the experience will be greatly amplified.