Trails Center featuring student-created exhibit, “Dust, Grit, and Mud”

Organization:

BLM Wyoming

BLM Office:

High Plains District Office

Media Contact:

CASPER, Wyo. – Through mid-April, the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center is featuring a temporary exhibit curated by student volunteers showcasing their reenacted journey across the historic trails of Wyoming.

“Dust, Grit, and Mud” documents the trials, triumphs, and entertainment students encountered traveling on a three-day wagon trek through South Pass in summer 2021. Geared for historical accuracy, the trip included sleeping in tipis, cooking over an open fire, travelling by wagon, and lots of walking. The students then turned their memories into this exhibit with the help of Bureau of Land Management staff and a teacher.

The purpose of the exhibit is to show visually how difficult, yet fun and rewarding, the adventure was and how adjustments must be made to solve problems. “The journey was hard!” expressed trek participant Teo Moore. “I was grateful every time we came to a place to camp.”

The 2021 trek and exhibit production participants are graduates of the Trails Center’s Student Docent Program. The program, run for more than a decade, trains students to be effective museum educators. Students enrolled in the program attend after-school training sessions and lead class tours at the Trails Center to graduate.

Teachers interested in joining the program with their classes may contact Education Technician Stacey Moore at samoore@blm.gov.

For more information, please call the Trails Center at (307) 261-7700 or Stacey Moore at (307) 261-7780.

The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center is open 7 days a week from 9 am to 4:30 pm MST.
1501 N Poplar St., Casper, WY 82601.

Admission is Free


The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.