The Calico Rock Museum is excited to announce a Community Engagement Program.
This program will allow the community to learn about real-life skills that can improve their daily
lives through classes, seminars, and hands-on training. The museum is converting unused space in the museum complex for the programs. Most of the community is familiar with The Nook, which is a beautiful community room perfect for events and special occasions. The Nook is also a great place for seminars.
The Hive will be a classroom and tinkering space that will be permanently set up for
learning in a “clean” environment for cooking, art, sewing, and other crafts and skills. Generous local funding has made this space possible and it will be ready very soon.
The Community Workshop will be a literal workshop with woodworking tools, welders,
pottery equipment, and other power tools where the community can learn practical, hands-on
skills. The museum is raising funds and applying for grants to make this space a reality. “It will
cost about $20,000 to build out the walls, provide soundproofing for the ceilings, add a restroom, give the workshop it’s own entrance, and put in the electrical to support the tools needed for this space,” Executive Director Bambi Bowden said. “When it’s finished, the workshop will have woodworking, metal arts, pottery, forging, and other power tools to provide hands-on training opportunities,” Bowden added.
The museum gave some examples of seminars they hope to offer, including personal
finance (balancing a checkbook, taking out a loan, responsibly using a credit card, etc), estate
planning, applying and interviewing for a job, how to start and run a business, and
hunters/boaters education. The museum plans to offer more in depth classes on pottery, drawing, painting, baking breads, shopping and cooking healthy meals, making cakes and sweets, sewing,alterations, photography, gardening, canning, homesteading, and candle-making.
“If we can raise the funds for the Community Workshop we can teach woodworking,
welding, blacksmithing, home repair, and skills that someone can use every day. We hope some of the folks who take these classes will be able to use them to get a job or create their own business someday,” Museum Vice Chair Stephen Hicks said.
The museum sees the possibilities as endless and hope to be constantly busy, constantly
offering something that appeals to everyone in the community. Some programs will be free,
some will have a small fee for materials but none of them will cost more than $25 and they plan to offer scholarships when possible. The museum is seeking local donations for the program. For more information, contact Bambi Bowden at 870-297-6100.