Watts Museum to host family-friendly Saturday event series

Decoder Quest is the first in a series of three events scheduled for families in the Watts Museum.

The Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum at West Virginia University is hosting a Saturday event series for families throughout the spring.

“This series of free kid-friendly events will supplement the museum’s regular hours offered on Saturdays and give families an activity to enjoy while viewing our exhibit,” said Curator Danielle Petrak.

On February 17, from 1-4 p.m., Decoder Quest will allow participants to flex their grey matter by solving a puzzle while learning about the life of miners underground.

In celebration of National Quilting Day on March 14, the museum will host a Rug Making event. Attendees will explore coal camp life while creating their own up-cycled rug. The event runs from 1-4 p.m.

The series concludes on April 14, with Touch a Truck: Mighty Machines and More. From 10 a.m.-2p.m., children can explore heavy machinery, meet the people that operate these machines and learn what these machines can do.

“Man Power, Mine Power” is on view through June 2019 and will be available to travel to other venues throughout West Virginia after its installation at the Watts Museum. The Watts Museum is located in Room 125 of the Mineral Resources Building on the Evansdale campus of WVU. The Museum is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, from 1–4 p.m., and by appointment. For more information, contact the museum at (304) 293-4609 or wattsmuseum@mail.wvu.edu.

The Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum is dedicated to preserving and promoting the social, cultural, and technological history of West Virginia’s coal and petroleum industries through the collection, preservation, research and exhibition of historical objects and archival materials.

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