Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a fun, self-guided scavenger hunt around the North Berrien Historical Museum to find the hidden pot of gold and learn about Irish-American history along the way!

This free program is designed for wee folk ages 6+ and their families. It will take place on Saturday, March 16 from 2:00–4:00 p.m. No RSVP required. Contact the Museum with any questions at (269) 468-3330.

Most people take for granted that they have electricity in their house. But what was life like for people who lived over 100 years ago in a time before homes were powered by electricity?

This children’s program will illustrate what life was like in the home during wintertime as the daylight hours grew shorter. Activities will include hand-dipped candle making, writing with a quill by candlelight, and using wax to seal an envelope.

This program is recommended for children ages 6–12. RSVP is required, please call (269) 468-3330 to register your child for the 10:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. program that will take place on Tuesday, January 2.

Learn what it was like to vacation at Pratt’s-on-the-Lake (Pier Road) during the 1930s and ‘40s in a talk by former Hagar Township resident Bill Corbett. Through photographs, journal entries and letters kept by his father, Bill will describe the daily activities of resort life, and the lifelong friendship his mother developed with Pearl Pratt.  

Bill’s parents, former Chicago residents Cy and Dorothy Corbett, loved Pratt’s and Lake Michigan life so much that in 1944 they purchased their own waterfront property, an abandoned summer retreat near Camp Warren. They developed the property into their own resort, which they ran until Dorothy died in 1981.
     

Cy was a former newspaper man and kept journals and saved correspondence throughout his life. In going through the family archives, Bill has discovered many interesting writings. In April, he released a book of his father’s materials, The Drums of War: An Autobiography by T.C. Corbett (1917-1924) which is a first-hand account of Cy’s WWI Army Air Service, and difficult return to civilian life.

No RSVP is required for this free program.

The Coloma Courier was published weekly from 1885–1969, at which point it was absorbed by the Watervliet Record (now the Tri-City Record). Joe and Marjorie Wells of Coloma are recognized in the community for their run as owners of the Courier, publishing the periodical from 1946–1959.

Charles Chauncey Wells, the son of Joe and Marjorie, will appear at the North Berrien Historical Museum to present “Country Weekly: Heart of the Community.” Charles will discuss his experiences growing up at the Coloma Courier and how it led to a lifelong passion for letterpress printing and other forms of the medium.

No RSVP is required for this free program.

Learn about the daily life and activities of the French fur traders in this fun and immersive program designed for children ages 6–12.

The program will begin at the North Berrien Historical Museum with a lesson and craft about the canoes used by the voyageurs. The program will then relocate to Paw Paw Lake where a Sarett naturalist will take the group on a trip in a 34-foot voyageur canoe replica!

Personal floatation devices will be required and provided. Due to limited seating, we ask that only one parent accompany the group of children they are overseeing. Children under age 8 may ride along without paddling.

Two times frames are available on August 10: 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. RSVP is required. Call (269) 468-3330 to reserve your child’s place today!

Upon opening its gates in 1949, Deer Forest served as a magical place that would enchant not only the surrounding small community but the entire world around it for over 60 years. Tucked away in a corner of Coloma, Michigan, the petting zoo/amusement park featured animals to pet and feed such as deer, antelope, mountain sheep, llamas, and peacocks, as well as other attractions such as Storybook Lane, a train, and a souvenir building. By 1989, more than 3.5 million people had visited Deer Forest.

Although the park closed in 2014, the legacy of Deer Forest lives on. The North Berrien Historical Museum is excited to unveil a new interactive exhibition of objects and artifacts from Deer Forest. Elephant keys from Storybook Lane will be available to take home as a souvenir for a nominal donation. Please join us for a trip down memory lane. The exhibition will be available to view throughout summer 2023 during regular visiting hours.

No RSVP is required for this free program. Please call (269) 468-3330 with any questions.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a fun, self-guided scavenger hunt around the North Berrien Historical Museum to find the hidden pot of gold and learn about Irish-American history along the way!

This free program is designed for wee folk ages 6+ and their families. It will take place on Saturday, March 11 from 2:00–4:00 p.m. No RSVP required. Contact the Museum with any questions at (269) 468-3330.

Spread your wings and fly on over to the North Berrien Historical Museum in Coloma for a free midwinter break program about birds!

Learn all about our feathered friends who live in Michigan and what they do for the winter from a Sarett Nature Center naturalist and make a pinecone bird feeder to put out for the birds in your backyard. This activity will include the use of peanut butter.

This free program intended for children ages 6–12 takes place on Thursday, December 29. RSVP is required. There are two opportunities to participate: 10:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. Call (269) 468-3330 to reserve your child’s place today!

The Annual Members-Only Meeting is reserved for North Berrien Historical Society Members. Doors are at 5:00 p.m. There will be a made-to-order dinner prepared by La Chula Mobile starting at 5:30 p.m. The annual meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the program following at 7:00 p.m.

The evening program will be Crazy, Weird and Bizarre Michigan Highway Signs presented by Dr. John Geisler, who will be sharing a collection of road and highway signs that will entertain, inform and delight. He has driven over 5,000 miles conducting research on the history of highways in Michigan. While doing so, he has noted and recorded highway signs that seem out of place, out of joint, or out of this world. For example, a sign on a county road near Albion, MI that reads: "WATCH FOR WATER UNDER BRIDGE." He has always believed that's where it was supposed to be! In addition, he will be presenting materials on signage that will be helpful and interesting to all those who drive on highways and roads.

For membership details and to RSVP, contact the Museum at (269) 468-3330.

Have you ever dreamt of flying?

Become a pilot for a day with Taking Flight: Aviation History for Kids. This summer program, designed for children ages 6–12, will focus on the history of aviation. Before leaving, participants will design their own small aircraft to better understand the principle of lift in flight.

This FREE program is available on Thursday, August 25 at both 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Call (269) 468-3330 to RSVP your child today!

In 1922, the world’s largest producer of job printing presses manufactured a rhythmic machine that still enjoys showing off to this day!

On Saturday, June 18, you are invited to this Birthday Party & Open House for the Museum’s 1922 Chandler & Price job press. The celebration will include printing demonstrations, kids activities related to print, sweet treats, and more!

No RSVP required. Call (269) 468-3330 with any questions.

Brave people from Ireland have been immigrating to the United States to live for hundreds of years. To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the North Berrien Historical Museum is offering a kids program about Irish Immigration and the Assembly Line.

Activities will include filling out a simulated historical citizenship document using a quill as well as an interactive assembly line to demonstrate the work done by Irish-American laborers in Michigan’s automotive factories. Participants will leave with their own shamrock-decorated rubber band car and goodie bag.

The free program is designed for wee folk ages 6–12 and takes place on Saturday, March 12. Due to limited space and supplies, RSVP is required. There are two time frames available to participate, beginning at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. Please call (269) 468-3330 or email peter@northberrienhistory.org to reserve your child’s place today!

Do you enjoy a cup of coffee with your history? At these friend-raising events, society and community members will join the North Berrien Museum's staff in discussion of the many items that are currently being preserved in our archives. The topic for February’s installment will be ice harvesting.

These morning history discussions are free for society members and $1 suggested donation for non-society members.

People have long been interested in their dreams. Some try to remember and interpret them. Others forget their dreams as soon as they wake. In some Native American cultures, people try to influence their dreams. How is this done? With a dreamcatcher!

The North Berrien Historical Museum is excited to announce the Dream Weavers: Kids’ Winter Workshop. Participants will learn about the background and purpose of the dreamcatcher and then make their own to take home.

This free program is designed for children ages 6–12 and will take place on Thursday, December 30 at the North Berrien Historical Museum in Coloma. RSVP is required. There are two opportunities to participate: 10:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. Call (269) 468-3330 to reserve your child’s place today!

Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state, with more than 120 dotting its expansive Great Lakes shoreline. Many of these lighthouses lay claim to haunted happenings. Former keepers like the cigar-smoking Captain Townshend at Seul Choix Point and prankster John Herman at Waugoshance Shoal near Mackinaw City maintain their watch long after death ended their duties. At White River Light Station in Whitehall, Sarah Robinson still keeps a clean and tidy house and a mysterious young girl at the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse seeks out other children and female companions. Countless spirits remain between Whitefish Point and Point Iroquois in an area well known for its many tragic shipwrecks.

In the pages of Michigan’s Haunted Lighthouses, a new title from The History Press/Arcadia Publishing, author Dianna Stampfler shares stories from 13 lighthouses around the state of Michigan.

Stampfler will present this topic at the Watervliet High School Auditorium. Following the presentation, a book sale/signing will be offered.

Watervliet High School Auditorium is located at 450 E St. Joseph Street in Watervliet, Michigan. Parking will be in the Middle School lot east of the Auditorium. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the program starts promptly at 7:00 p.m. The presentation is free to North Berrien Historical Society members. For non-society members, a $5 cash donation is suggested for Adults and a $2 cash donation is suggested for Students (18 and under). 

No RSVP required, however, one person from each party will be asked to provide contact information that evening.   

Please call the North Berrien Historical Museum at (269) 468-3330 with any questions.