Hi my name is Skye, I am the new editor for Museums411 Kids Corner. Just as my sister Lexi has done,I will take you to the Museums that I have visited and give you my opinion on whether these Museums are interesting and fun for kids.

I visited the Hancock Shaker Museum in Pittsfield Massachusetts with my Dad and there was so much to see and do that we were there over 3 hours. We had a great time going through all the buildings and watching all the costumed interpreters doing demonstrations and answering all our questions.

I had a lot of fun going through the barn and petting all the farm animals that reside there, the baby piglets were so cute but their hair is not so soft.

I got to see how farm life was like back in the late 18th century. The village was pretty much self sustaining. They farmed and raised animals that pretty much feed them throuhout the year. They built their own buildings, made furniture, made clothing, had a blacksmith, cobbler dairy and much more.

You Kids will enjoy going here and watching the staff do woodworking, blacksmithing, weaving, etc. I got to try out some of the wood working tools just the way the did it over 225 years.

I was reall surprised at how logical everything was setup, especially the round barn. The barn is built in a circle which was a great way to minimize work and increase productivity, feeding all the animals from the top down and milking them in the same way. The barn floor had a trap doors under the back of where the cows were so the manure would fall through and land in the wagons that were in a cirlce down below ant hey would just pull out the wagons and dump it outside, no shoveling needed. They have a water driven turbine that supplied the workshops with automated saws,drills and and other machinery.

I took most of the photographs on this page except for those that have me in them, my Dad took those. So I hope you enjoyed my first column and come back often i will be posting alot more in the very near future.

Until next time this is Skye saying, visit a Museum near you and enjoy everything they have to offer.