Monkey hair cape and a mammoth tooth

Summer school students from Saratoga Elementary visited the Saratoga Museum Thursday as part of their summer theme "Journey into the Past". The group was made up of 17 children, kindergarten through sixth grade, led by first grade teacher Annette Kelley and kindergarten teacher Kelly Horn.

The kids were toured through indoor and outdoor exhibits by museum Director Virginia Parker and board member and geology and archaeology expert Rod Laird.

Parker said "everybody found something they were interested in," and the most comments during the tour were about a monkey hair cape, a Union Pacific caboose, and a sheepherder's wagon.

Laird showed the students around the artifact-filled geology and archaeology rooms, quizzing students about fossils and what the Paleoindian version of a grocery store might have looked like. According to Laird, "education is ... the major goal of the museum. We seize every opportunity that comes along to show the youngsters of the community information about our past."