Museum Fun Day draws big crowd to WDM Yorkton

YORKTON — Families packed the Western Development Museum (WDM) in Yorkton for Museum Fun Day, enjoying hands-on activities, historical demonstrations and a chance to experience prairie life from years gone by.

YORKTON — Families packed the Western Development Museum (WDM) in Yorkton for Museum Fun Day, enjoying hands-on activities, historical demonstrations and a chance to experience prairie life from years gone by. The annual event brings the museum to life with interactive exhibits designed to engage visitors of all ages. “We didn’t expect 80 people at once at the same time,” said Jaylen Corbin of the WDM.

“So we had a great turnout so far. Fantastic turnout.” Visitors had the opportunity to try a variety of traditional activities throughout the day.

One of the most popular demonstrations was butter-making with an old ceramic churn, giving participants a chance to learn how butter was produced before modern conveniences. “Everyone can learn the old way of making butter, and then we get to sample it,” Corbin said. A hand-churned ice cream demonstration was also scheduled later in the day, offering another taste of history for guests.

Outside, museum visitors watched a blacksmith at work and enjoyed wagon rides around the grounds. A longtime Museum Fun Day tradition also returned with the creation of a friendship quilt. “Guests get to design a square,” Corbin explained.

“These are done with old wallpaper. We’ll put it together and add to it until it gets really big, and we’ll display it for a few years after that.” Children and adults alike also had the opportunity to learn how people made writing materials in the past, creating ink from berries and crafting quill pens.

The event’s strong attendance highlighted continued community interest in local history and heritage programming. Following Museum Fun Day, the WDM hosted its postponed Canada Day celebration. The evening program included a barbecue concession, local entertainment, an opening ceremony featuring dignitaries, novelty games, wagon rides and a fire demonstration.

With a full day of activities and a larger-than-expected crowd, Museum Fun Day once again proved to be a popular summer tradition in Yorkton.