Parent’s Activity Guide
for
Exploring Sagebrush Ranch
With Your
Child
  The Stagecoach:
Encourage your child to climb inside and take a trip out West
in our 3/4-scale stagecoach. As the stagecoach rocks back and forth,
children have a view of the passing desert
landscape.
Faces of the West:
As the United States expanded Westward, many people from
different backgrounds and homelands played vital roles in exploring and
settling the West. Open the colorful doors to learn Fun Facts about these
settlers.
The Artist’s Studio:
Guide
your child in a number of interactive activities. Press the buttons on the
checkerboard located on the front porch to hear cowboy songs, poetry and
jokes. Inside the Studio, play “I Spy”, weave on a real loom, draw a horse
or buffalo, paint with water, experiment with color mixing and value or
check out the effect that light has on sculpture. There is also a real
checkerboard if you and your child have time for a game.
The
Horse:
Take pictures of your child atop our working cowpony poised in
front of a Western backdrop. For that authentic look, have your child
dress in the Western wear in the Bunkhouse before saddling-up. On the wall
near the horse, your child can discover why horses are measured in “hands”
and see how many “hands” tall they are compared to the
horse.
The
Bunkhouse:
In the Bunkhouse, encourage your child to
dress in Western wear and draw themselves as either a Cowboy or Cowgirl.
Play the Trail Drive Game, learn about the different horses that helped
settle the West and match sounds of the West with artwork from the
Museum’s collection.
 Tall Tales
Barn:
In the Tall Tales Barn, your child can watch
vintage Western television programs, put on their own puppet show with
Rodeo Joe and his friends and spend some quiet time in one of the beanbags
reading a book about the West and the people who live there. Just outside
the Tall Tales Barn door is a Painting Book that shows the steps involved
in creating a painting.
The
Chuck Wagon:
Encourage your child to be the Chuck Wagon cook at this
replica of the Cowboy’s home away from home. The chuck wagon is outfitted
with all the things necessary to cook up enough grub for the whole family.
It is also a great place to settle back and read a book or
two.
The
Puzzle Corral:
Select a rodeo chute and help your
child with hands-on activities related to artwork in the Booth collection.
In chute #1, your child can recreate Native American bead-work. Chute #2
features puzzles of two famous gunfighters-Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.
Your child can create their own painting in chute #3 by placing magnetic
characters against a Western landscape. Three-dimensional puzzles can be
taken apart and put together in chute #4, and in chute #5 your child can
create their own designs on the large clay pot using magnetic
shapes.
The
Branding Station:
Assist your child in making a brand
for their own ranch using pencils, paper and the wood blocks at our
branding station. Before you move on, be sure your child uses the small
branding iron to brand the cow and hear the sounds he
makes.
Barrel Computer Stations:
Encourage your child to spend some time using these interactive
computer based art programs to learn about the elements of art like line,
shape and color.
Thank you for visiting Sagebrush Ranch. Come back
again!
Rodeo Joe
Ranch
Foreman
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