Tinker Time for Kids: A Slice of 1920s Life- Electricity and the Oil Boom

"There's black gold in Smackover, Arkansas," exclaimed newspapers throughout the nation. With that discovery, change flooded into south Arkansas during the 1920s. Explore what the oil boom was like for people who lived in the area during the tumultuous twenties. With the arrival of the petroleum industry came the need for what was then considered new technology, such as the widespread use of electricity.  Experiment with electrical circuits after you tour Boomtown Street with a park interpreter to discover how one hundred years ago something like electricity was a novelty and changed in some ways the daily rhythms of life in 1920s south Arkansas. Make your own hand-held fan with a craft stick, hobby motor, electrical tape, battery, art foam and aluminum foil. Due to limited space, reservations are required for this program. Please contact the museum at (870) 725-2877.