The Institute for American Indian Studies located in Washington Connecticut is keeping up a popular tradition in 2021 by offering a series of Native American-inspired craft workshops for kids and families every other Sunday in January and February.
The workshops will be conducted in a safe socially distanced environment with a maximum of just six participants. The silver lining to offering such small workshops is that museum educators will not only be able to give participants more individualized attention, they will also be able to modify the workshop in accordance with the abilities of the participants.
The second Sunday Fun Day craft workshop is taking place on Sunday, January 24 with one-hour time slots offered from 12 noon through 4 p.m. The focus of this workshop is on Native American beading.
Beadwork is an art form that has been practiced for centuries throughout Native American communities. Native Americans decorated clothing, dwellings, horse gear, and utensils with materials found in nature such as shells, pieces of bone, stones, seeds, and even porcupine quills. After European contact, many Native Communities began incorporating multi-colored glass beads into their designs. Glass beads were highly valued by Native Americans because they were durable and came in a variety of colors. The beading workshop on January 24 will focus on beading basics and introductory techniques that will get participants started on their own colorful beading project.
Sunday Fun Day in-person workshops that will highlight a specific Native American craft or art form are planned to take place every other Sunday in February from noon to 4 p.m. Unlike previous years, in order to maintain the highest standards of safety, all workshops require pre-registration for one of the four one-hour time slots. There will be no walk-ins. The cost of participation is admission to the museum ($10 for adults, $8 for Seniors and $6 for children) plus $10 for workshop materials. Members of the museum are free. Masks are required and hand sanitizer is always available. To make a reservation call the museum at 860-868-0518 or email them at events@iaismuseum.org to schedule a time slot.
About The Institute for American Indian Studies
Located on 15 acres of woodland acres the Institute For American Indian Studies preserves and educates through archeology, research, exhibitions, and programs. They have a 16th c. Algonquian Village, Award-Winning Wigwam Escape, and a museum with temporary and permanent displays of authentic artifacts from prehistory to the present that allows visitors to foster a new understanding of the world and the history and culture of Native Americans. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road, Washington, CT.