May is Museum Month and we are getting ready to open the historic village for the season by pulling out some of the artifacts that visitors don’t usually get to see.
Come and meet Westfield’s Collections Officer, Peter Lloyd, who looks after the thousands of artifacts that make up Westfield’s collection including artifacts like our historical buildings and the Locomotive 103. Each day in May, the Village is open, we will be offering a guided tour of one of our “behind the scenes” spaces where we store our artifact collection not on display to the public. This is a unique opportunity not often offered.
Make sure to visit the Dry Goods Store where we will have items on display not normally accessible including a lock and key collection. Can you figure out which key fits which lock? Check out some of the art pieces in our collection from very local artists. Discover some beautiful clothing pieces also from the collection. We have also asked our volunteer historical interpreters to highlight some of their favourite artifacts. Find out the unique stories behind these objects and why our volunteers like them so much. We’re also unveiling a couple of new pieces in the historic buildings. 
We are open on Sundays, May 17, 24 and 31 as well as holiday, Monday, May 18 from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Family Craft
Each day the historic village is open we will also have a family craft to enjoy. Kids of all ages (that means you grandparents, mom and dad too!) are invited to try your hand at the activity. For the month of May, it will be:
Scrap Book Pages – Pick a theme and create a page of “scraps” that reflects the theme.
Collecting comes in many forms. Sometimes it’s collecting objects, but sometimes it’s collecting memories in the form of “scraps”. Have you ever tried your hand at “scrapbooking”? Come out on May 17,18,24, or 31 to try your hand at making a scrapbook page. The concept of scrapbooking has been around for a very long time. Before the term emerged as we know it the technique was known as a commonplace book. The commonplace book was a way to prioritize and organize newfound flow of information. Commonplace books were a spot to record material studied in libraries, a spot to record inspirations, or simply to record a favourite recipe or quote.
As printing presses became mechanized it was easy to obtain greeting cards, calling cards and post cards to include in a scrapbook page. During the 1800s people started to fill blank, bound books with clippings, cards and printed memorabilia. Books were a mix of personal journal entries, hand-drawn sketches and watercolours. The first recorded use of the noun “scrap book” is 1821. The first use of “scrapbook” as a verb was recorded in 1879.
