Traveling Trunks Students Morgan (left) and Megan Hall participate in activities from the Civil War trunk.[/caption]

To teach children about local history, The Williamson Museum puts together trunks of artifacts to highlight local people, events and time periods.


Traveling Trunks, which was started in 2007, is a program used as a teaching tool for individuals and local school districts, including Georgetown, Leander, Round Rock and Taylor ISDs, said Danelle Houck, Williamson Museum education program coordinator.


“[These] artifacts are meant to be played with,” Houck said.


Traveling Trunks offers a variety of different trunks for rent, each focusing on a different topic, including Hispanic Heritage, Up the Chisholm Trail, Endangered Species, World War II and Williamson County. Many of the items are copies or replicas to ensure the preservation of the originals, Houck said.


“We want to teach [students] about the history of this area,” she said. “The more you know about where you live, the more you appreciate it.”


Trunks are $25 to rent for two weeks, and a costumed presenter, who is either a volunteer or museum staffer, is included in the price.


Lesson plans, reading materials and activities are also included, and educators may opt out of having a presenter and teach the material themselves. All materials are in line with Texas curriculum requirements, Houck said.


New this fall, the museum is offering a Dan Moody and the 1920s trunk as well as a Trains in Williamson County trunk, which includes items such as antique train tickets, conductor hats and photos from local oil fields.


Some trunks include information about local historical figures, such as Bill Pickett, one of the first African-American cowboys on the rodeo circuit, who performed in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Europe, according to the museum. Pickett, born in Taylor, worked as a cowboy in Central Texas and was the first African-American cowboy to be inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971, according to the museum.


Katie Day, a special education teacher at Annie Purl Elementary School in Georgetown ISD, said she has used Traveling Trunks for several years in her classes. Day said she has used the Day in the Life of a Cowboy trunk while they were studying Texas symbols as well as the Turn of the Century and the School Days trunks. Day said Houck came dressed in clothes from the 1900s and demonstrated how to write with quills and ink.


“It was wonderful watching the students so engaged,” she said. “We found that these traveling trunks addressed all learning styles and promoted home and school involvement. It’s such a perfect way for history to come alive for our pre-K through second-grade primary students.”


Traveling Trunks

  • American Revolution (grades 3, 5 and 8)

  • Civil War (grades 4-8)

  • Day in the Life of a Cowboy (grades K-4)

  • Dan Moody and the 1920s (grades 4-7)

  • Digging into the Past (grades 3-7)

  • Endangered Species (grades K-5)

  • Hispanic Heritage in Williamson County (grades 2-7)

  • Hunting and Fishing (grades 2-8)

  • Pioneer Times in Texas (grades 2-8)

  • School Days (grades 2-7)

  • Swedish Immigrants (grades 4-8)

  • Trains in Williamson County (grades K-8)

  • Turn of the Century (grades 3-8)

  • Up the Chisholm Trail (grades 4-8)

  • Williamson County (grades 2-7)

  • WWII (grades 9-12)