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Category Archives: Entertainment
The Chamber Coffee Hosted by Gordon Parks Museum at Noon on March 17
The Chamber Coffee will be hosted by
Gordon Parks Museum, on the campus of Fort Scott Community College.
2108 S. Horton, Fort Scott
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
12:00 pm to 1 pm
Please feel free to bring your lunch and drinks, desert will be provided!
Want to know more? Click HEREto visit us on our website
Community Collaboration on Wind Science
Wind Science Tinker Lab: A Successful STEM Community Collaboration
A preschooler turned a hand-crank fan to move a small boat across a pan of water, while a few feet away, an elementary student used a condiment bottle to blow leaves across the floor. Nearby, a middle school student held a unique mobile he had designed, while a teenager drew back the string on a wind cannon to test it. On the other side of the room, a family gathered to read a stack of books about wind. What drew all of these age and interest groups together? Surprisingly, a fascination with wind science.
Utilizing the $500 mini-grant from the Franklin Institute and the national Leap into Science program that it won last year, Fort Scott Public Library held a wind science workshop on Monday, February 24, at the Buck Run Community Center in Fort Scott. Valetta Cannon, youth librarian and assistant director at FSPL, collaborated with Diana Alters of the Southeast Kansas Community ActionProgram, Star McClellan of Parents as Teachers, Jennifer Terell and Makayla Stroud of 4-H and the Southwind K-State Extension Office, Michelle Stevenson of the Fort Scott Early ChildhoodProgram, and Fort Scott Community College professor Ronda Bailey, along with education students Courtney Williams and Karis Mengarelli, on the project.
Grant funds were used to purchase supplies for creating wind science experiment kits, each of which included three to four science experiments in labeled bags, two books about wind
science, instructions for using the experiments, a hand-crank or battery-powered fan, glue stick, tape, and a condiment bottle. Families were also able to select age levels for their kits. Four
Airzooka wind cannons were also purchased, three of which were given away in a drawing at the end of the workshop.
24 adults, 6 teens, and 31 children attended the event, which was held in the big Buck RunCommunity Center gymnasium. Attendees enjoyed wind science experiments from the Leap
into Science curricula, including a challenge to a build something that could detect different types of wind and a tower that could withstand big gusts of wind. They were also encouraged to enjoy fresh fruit or fruit snacks, along with bottled water, at a refreshment table. Families were invited to read a variety of wind science books together, listen to a group story, and to color or fill out worksheets.
Most of the community partners came early to set up, oversaw a table or station of their own, and they stayed late to clean up. Collaborators also received science kits to use in their organizations, and Michelle Stevenson won a wind cannon in the drawing. Collaborators and community members alike expressed delight in the success of the event and hope that similar events would follow.
Fort Scott Public Library April Youth Programs
Celebrate the Women Who Changed History through the 19th Amendment
March is Women’s History Month
Fort Scott Kan. – Fort Scott National Historic Site is celebrating Women’s History Month in March with weekly Saturday interpretive programs. “Though in 1861, the constitution of the newly created state of Kansas includes ‘the rights of women to participate in school district elections’, it wasn’t until 1919 that Kansas ratified the 19th Amendment,” said Betty Boyko, Superintendent, Fort Scott National Historic Site. “This series of programs around Women’s Suffrage and the 19th Amendment is the beginning of a larger discussion the park will host throughout the year.”
March 7, Noon: Alice Paul and the Suffrage Movement
In 1920, the 19th Amendment was certified into law, giving women the right to vote. Paul believed the vote was just the first step in the quest for full equality. Join us in a discussion of women’s suffrage and equal rights in the United States
March 14, 1 pm: Frontier Gossip
An interpretive program based on the letters written by Charlotte Swords and her husband, Thomas. Captain Thomas Swords was the post quartermaster. He and his wife were prolific writers and were eager to tell the stories of the times.
March 21, 1 pm: Woman’s History Tour of the Fort
Discuss the women that made a difference at the fort and in shaping the west on this walk through the Fort.
March 28, Noon: Alice Paul and the Suffrage Movement
In 1920, the 19th Amendment was certified into law, giving women the right to vote. Paul believed the vote was just the first step in the quest for full equality. Join us in a discussion of women’s suffrage and equal rights in the United States.
From November 1-March 31, Fort Scott National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, will be open for its winter hours of operation. The site exhibit areas and visitor center are open daily from 8:30 am-4:30 pm. The park grounds are open daily from ½ hour before sunrise until ½ hour after sunset. To find out more or become involved in activities at the Fort, please contact the park at 620-223-0310 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/fosc.
St. Mary’s Catholic School Dinner and Auction April 25
St. Mary’s Catholic School Invites you to attend their
Dinner & Auction Event on
April 25th!
Presentation Explores Lives of Free-Born Children after Civil War
Gordon Parks Museum at Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, KS, will host “Children of the Promised Land,” a presentation and discussion by Angela Bates on Tuesday, March 17 at 12:00 P.M. at The Ellis Family Fine Arts Center, Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton St. Fort Scott, KS.
Members of the community are invited to attend the free program. Contact Kirk Sharp at 620 -223-2700 ext. 5850 for more information.
The program is made possible by Humanities Kansas.
“This is a Lunch and Learn event so everyone is welcome to bring their lunch and drinks. Dessert will be available,” said Museum Director, Kirk Sharp.
Nicodemus, a small, unincorporated town in Graham County, is the only remaining western town established by African Americans during the Reconstruction Period following the Civil War.
Today the town is a National Historic Site. This pictorial history explores the unique experience of mothers and their children in Nicodemus, some of whom were the first members of their families born free.
Angela Bates is the executive director of the Nicodemus Historical Society. She presents educational programs across the nation covering Nicodemus, Exodusters and black towns in the West, Buffalo Soldiers, and black women in the West.
“My great uncle, Henry Williams, was the first baby born in Nicodemus just a month after my great-grandmother Emma arrived with the first group of settlers in 1877,” said Bates. “He was one of the first in his generation born on the free soils of Kansas. He represents the many children of his generation that were reared by parents who were former slaves.”
“Children of the Promised Land” is part of Humanities Kansas’s Movement of Ideas Speakers Bureau, featuring presentations and workshops designed to share stories that inspire, spark conversations that inform, and generate insights that strengthen civic engagement.
For more information about “Children of the Promised Land” contact the Gordon Parks Museum at 620 -223-2700 ext. 5850 or visit http://www.gordonparkscenter.org/
About Humanities Kansas
Humanities Kansas is an independent nonprofit spearheading a movement of ideas to empower the people of Kansas to strengthen their communities and our democracy. Since 1972, our pioneering programming, grants, and partnerships have documented and shared stories to spark conversations and generate insights. Together with our partners and supporters, we inspire all Kansans to draw on history, literature, ethics, and culture to enrich their lives and serve the communities and state we all proudly call home. Visit humanitieskansas.org.
Common Ground Coffee to Move Shop Mid-March
Common Ground Coffee shop’s last day of operation at its current, 116 S. Main location will be Friday, March 6.
A new chapter for this local meeting place will then begin.
“We will be closed Saturday, March 7 through 10,” Jennifer LaRoche, a member of the Common Ground board, said. “We have a tentative date of March 11th to be back in business.”
” We are going to close out the five-year journey with some live music from 7-8 pm by Rick Hite and friends,” she said.
The coffee shop will be back in business about two blocks away at 12 E. Wall.
The new space has more space, an enlarged commercial kitchen, a conference room and meeting space with a stage.
In addition, there will be a drive-up window that will be opened once the staff is “settled in”, LaRoche said.
The stage space will also need a little more work when the business is first moved in.
“It will be heated with portable heaters,” she said.
Signage will be temporary on the door to the new building, until warmer weather when it can be placed on glass, she said.
Common Ground Coffee Shop is a ministry of Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene.
‘SPACE GIRL’ LAUNCHES MARCH 19 AT FSCC
There are aliens among us. At least, there will be March 19-21 when the Fort Scott Community College Theatre Department beams “Space Girl,” a new play by Mora V. Harris, to the stage in the Ellis Family Fine Arts Center.
Curtain is 7:30 p.m. each night, and there is no admission charge for the show, directed by FSCC theater instructor Allen Twitchell.
According to the synopsis from Playscripts Inc., “Arugula Suarez just wants to fit in. But it’s not easy when you’re a 16-year-old lesbian alien from the planet Zlagdor. In an alien world where the only things that make sense are Roller Derby and salad, Arugula and her father, Nancy, must find out what it means to be human before time runs out for Planet Earth.”
Jazmin Havens, a freshman from Pittsburg, plays Arugula; Anthony Oneri, a freshman from Gardner, plays Nancy; Grace Keating, a sophomore from Fort Scott plays Charlotte, Arugula’s only human friend; Phoenix Burk, a sophomore from Pittsburg, plays Bruise, Arugula’s roller derby teammate; Abby Sweat, a freshman from Pleasanton, plays the Zlagdorian chancellor; Fayelyn Kmiec, a sophomore from Farlington, plays Ms. Nussbaum, Arugula’s teacher; Kendra Johnson, a freshman at Girard High School from Arma, plays Denise, Arugula’s classmate nemesis; Isabella Loyd, a freshman from Fort Scott, plays Becky, Denise’s friend; and Kaleb Morrow, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., plays the planetarium announcer and provides additional voices.
Michael Woodward, a sophomore from Fulton, serves as the sound engineer.
“The story is one of self-discovery,” said Twitchell. “Essentially, we are all aliens inside trying to find our ‘niche,’ where we can fit in and, the hope is, to enhance society. The political undercurrent of the story deals with climate neglect and how, left to its own devices, mankind is, intentionally or not, targeting its own destruction.
“On the surface, the show features aliens, roller derby and salad, lots of salad, so how can it not be fun?”
Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner Nominations Sought by March 6
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What, No Clothing Stores on the Frontier?
Learn how to make clothes by hand
Fort Scott Kan. – Fort Scott National Historic Site is celebrating Women’s History Month in March with two living history clothing workshops focusing on mid-19th century women.
The Bonnet Workshop is Saturday, March 7, from 9 am to 1 pm and the Petticoat Workshop is Saturday, March 14, from 9:30 am to 3 pm. Please call or text Kelley Collins at 417-684-2484 to reserve a spot.
Bonnet Workshop: During this bonnet workshop, you will learn the popular styles of the time period and create a straw bonnet for yourself or the fort’s “magic room” clothing closet. Knowledge of basic hand sewing skills is recommended. Please call or text Kelley Collins at 417-684-2484 by Friday, February 21 if you plan to attend. You will receive a materials list upon registration if you are making a bonnet for yourself. This includes a source for ordering the straw bonnet form you will need for the workshop. Supplies for individuals making bonnets for the magic room will be furnished.
Petticoat Workshop: Learn about mid-19th century skirt supports and create a corded petticoat for yourself or the fort’s “magic room” clothing closet. Basic sewing skills are required. A sewing machine is desirable but not mandatory as the fort has two machines available. Please call or text Kelley Collins at 417-684-2484 by March 7 if you plan to attend. A materials list is available for those creating their own petticoat. Fabric and other supplies are available to those making petticoats for the magic room.
Fort Scott High School Thespians Perform Radium Girls
Inspired by the real-life story of the luminous watch dial painters of the 1920s, Radium Girls marks the journey of three women’s struggle with radium poisoning and their fight for justice from the U.S. Radium Corporation.
The Fort Scott High School Thespians perform the play, written by D.W. Gregory, at 7 p.m. on Feb. 27, 28, and 29 at the FSHS Auditorium, 1005 S. Main, in Fort Scott.
Although Radium Girls is historical fiction, most of the characters were real people in history. Others are a conglomeration of various people involved in the plight of the Radium Girls.
“Students have invested a lot of time and research into their characters for this performance,” said FSHS Thespian Director Angie Bin. “They have studied their real-life counterparts and noted character traits and personalities that make their character historically accurate.”
The production, set in the 1920s, relays how radium, then known as a miracle cure and beauty product, was used to create a glow in the dark paint that illuminated watches and clocks especially during WWI. The young women employed to paint the tiny numerals were instructed to point their brushes using their mouths. Years later, most of the women began developing horrific health issues which were dismissed by their employers. Eventually, several women were able to find legal defense and had their voices heard, and radium poisoning proven. Their bravery eventually led to landmark changes in working conditions for employees.
“Called a ‘powerful’ and ‘engrossing’ drama by critics, Radium Girls offers a wry, unflinching look at the peculiarly American obsessions with health, wealth, and the commercialization of science,” according to Dramatic Publishing.
The production involves a 12-member ensemble of students who all play up to four characters each. Actors include seniors Levi Bin, Madi Toth, Carlee Studyvin, Dominic Cannon, Jo Goodbody and Wendy Monahan; juniors Ashanti Green, Tailynn Harding, and Sage Hill; sophomore Jacob Ham; and freshmen Bareigh Farrell and Israel Carreno.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children and available at the Fort Scott High School office and at Common Ground Coffee, 116 S. Main. Doors open 30 minutes prior to show time. The lobby will have on display a number of educational projects created by students at FSHS.
“Students in Drama classes have created the design details for the show that will be on display for the public. I am so proud of the model sets they have built with set design suggestions, make-up and costuming sketches and research, and the sound and lighting design suggestions they have presented,” said Bin. “Additionally, we have several graphic design posters that our students in Dr. Michelle Laubenstein’s classes created, including the winning design created by junior Amber Russo.”
Upon conclusion of Radium Girls, the FSHS Thespians will celebrate March as Theatre in Our Schools Month and host the all-school Talent Show and Miss(ter) FSHS Pageant at 7 p.m. on March 27 in the Auditorium. Other upcoming events include the annual Thespian Rummage Sale on April 10-11 and Tiger Drama Camp held May 18-29.