Freeborn County Historical Museum hosts their Discover History Program

(ABC 6 News) – On Friday, juniors and seniors at the Albert Lea High School got the opportunity to switch things up: turning from students to teachers.

It’s part of the Freeborn County Historical Museum’s Discover History Program. This year, the program welcomed 135 juniors and seniors from ALHS to create an interactive lesson plan that was then delivered to just under 300 elementary students from across Freeborn County.

“It benefits our fifth-grade students, it benefits our juniors and seniors, they develop so many skills while they are doing it,” said Stephanie Kibler, the Freeborn County Historical Museum, Library, and Village’s executive director. “They get paired with an advisor so we have a lot of retired teachers that act as advisors here. So it’s a multi-generational program that’s offered.”

From agriculture to entertainment, ALHS students were assigned one of 12 categories to create a lesson plan on over the course of the program.

“I think that was really interesting for me to kind of compare those two different types of and ways of life from back in the late 18th century, and it was really interesting to find out some of the things that were the same and also the things that were different,” said ALHS junior Nevaeh Wacholz.

On Facebook, the Freeborn County Historical Museum highlighted the program:

“This program’s intergenerational aspect offers a unique opportunity for high school students as well as the fifth-grade students who attend the presentation days. High school students hone skills they will utilize for years to come – working as a team, presenting to an audience, communication skills, peer review.”