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Past Events & Exhibits
Toy Classics
Spring 2009
While toys are meant to be fun, they are
really much more. They develop motor skills,
recognition and promote activity. Toys were
used to instill cultural roles, especially during
the Baby Boomer era. Tinker Toys, Lincoln 
Logs (architecture) Baby Dolls, Toy Kitchens
(homemaking skills) With electronic toys taking
over today, youngsters viewing this exhibit
might get a glimpse of toys they never knew
existed.
Rodney Echohawk, exhibit coordinator,
says the idea for such a show is a departure
from the typical kind most expect to see in a museum. “Toys have been around since ancient Egypt and are found in every country and era.
Anyone who has found a toy they had as a
child is transported back to the joys of youth.”
Echohawk states.
Disney figures, super heroes, automobiles,
ships, planes, baby dolls, doll houses, space
ships, Barbie, G. I. Joe, Chatty Cathy, Johnny
West, full piece playsets, an early skateboard
and much more are on display. (1945-1980)
This exhibit will appeal to men, women,
boys, girls of all ages. For those over 30, you
may have sighs of nostalgia for that toy mom
threw out or sold at garage sale. Plans are to
rotate some items out and add others in
January, so you need to visit more than once to
see it all.
Treasures of the Arkansas River – from Bill Breckinridge
Fall 2007
In Kansas, it’s the “ar-KANSAS” river. In Oklahoma it’s the “Arkan-SAW” river. To the Muscogee Creek Indians it is the We-jadi, or Red Water. It has been a highway for Mammoths and ancient hunters, fur trappers, and traders of many nations. But in these days of bottled water and garden hoses the Arkansas River is most frequently seen from a highway bridge, and then quickly forgotten.
Did you know early settlers in Tulsa panned gold from the river? That mineable quantities of uranium occur in the river gravel? That before modern agriculture the river bottom was heavily forested with huge oaks, walnut, pecan and other valuable hardwoods? And of course, the river also contains a substance precious to all life…water.
Only 200 years ago, millions of buffalo crossed this river on their migrations, following the seasons and the grass. Today the river is entering a new phase. Dammed, lined with sewage plants, the protective tree cover gone from the banks, the river is being shaped by today’s uses and priorities. Urban development, agriculture, mining and conservation must all be considered.
It can take a lifetime to understand a river. The Sand Springs Cultural and Historical Museum will give the public a window into the River’s past through an exhibit entitled “Treasures of the Arkansas” beginning on Tuesday, July 17 and running through Thursday, October 4. Admission is free to the public.
The following Saturday, October 6, the “Sand Springs Artifact & Fossil Show,” sponsored by the Sand Springs Sertoma Club for the benefit of the Sand Springs Cultural and Historic Museum will become a “must see” for rock hounds, arrowhead collectors and those interested in the history of the N.E. Oklahoma area.
The show will be held at the Sand Springs Community Center, 420 E. Plaza Ct., Sand Springs, Oklahoma. The hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat. Oct 6, 2007. Admission is $3, under 10 free. Call Sand Springs Sertoma Club, 918-640-6590, for more information.
2007 Photo Fair
Fall 2007
The 2nd Annual Sand Springs Photo Fair is coming soon. Photos will be accepted October 16 thru 20. The photos will be judged on October 22 and on display at the museum from October 23 thru November 10.
This contest is open to anyone living, working, or attending school in Sand Springs.The contest is open to any person who lives, works or attends school in the City of Sand Springs or within its fence lines.
There are both amateur and professional categories. The amateur category ranges: 7th grade and under; 8th through 12th grade; Adult and Senior (65 and over). Subcategories include Nature and Animals, People, Sand Springs, Plants and Flowers, Miscellaneous.
Professional subcategories are Nature, Plants and Flowers, People – Candid, People – Portrait, Commercial, Architecture, Sand Springs and Miscellaneous.
There will be free photo classes for the public on November 10. The subject matter will be announced later.