Monday, February 25, 2008

Sessions depart from the Hilton. Times will be listed in the conference agenda.

Field Session 1: From Fish to Clay - Two Sites

Cost $15.00 - Lunch on your own at area restaurants.

Site 1: The Oklahoma Aquarium, located in Jenks, Oklahoma has become a major attraction for statewide tourism, education and economic development. The Aquarium is home to over 200 exhibits covering a variety of marine and freshwater life as well as a unique fishing tackle collection.

Site 2: Frankoma Pottery has been a Tulsa tradition since the 1930’s, offering a wide variety of handmade terra cotta pottery. It’s one of the few potteries in the United States that produces its wares from a local source of raw clay. It has combined the traditional Native Art of the Indian, the spirit of the American Pioneer and the creative tendencies of the great southwest.

Field Session 2: Museums & Art – Two sites

Cost $15.00 (includes art instruction and materials)
Lunch on your own at The Osage Restaurant inside Gilcrease Museum.

Site 1: Gilcrease Museum is home to one the world's most comprehensive collections of fine art, artifacts and archives of the American west. Gilcrease, while offering an unparalleled collection of Native American art and artifacts, also has historical manuscripts, documents and maps giving a glimpse into the past. The collection includes the works of Moran, Remington and during your visit, the Charles Banks Wilson exhibit An Oklahoma Life in Art will be on display. Beyond the collections and exhibits are beautiful themed gardens on 23 of the 460 acres. Shop in The Gilcrease Museum Store.

Site 2: Painting floor cloths (placemats) at Waterworks Art Studios for a hands-on art project. The Waterworks location was originally built in 1911 when it served as the city water plant. The water treatment plant was abandoned in 1927 and the plant was converted to a municipal swimming pool until it closed in 1965. Today it has been converted to Waterworks Art Studio, the Tulsa Parks and Recreation’s fine art studio. Floor cloths/placemats are both beautiful and practical. Pre-primed canvas is used as the base on which you'll paint designs or subjects of your choice. You will learn techniques needed to finish a lovely piece of art for your home.

Field Session 3: Architecture, Culture, & Music -Three sites

Cost: $15.00 – Lunch on your own.

Site 1: The Greenwood Cultural Center was established to promote African- American heritage and culture. The Center houses the Goodwin-Chapelle Gallery, a permanent photographic exhibit of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. Once known as "Black Wall Street," the area around Greenwood Avenue was the center for Black entrepreneurs and Black-owned businesses during the years of segregation. Adjoining the Center is the only residence still standing that dates to the 1920’s and was built on the site of a home destroyed in the riot.

Site 2: The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame’s mission is to inspire creativity and improve the quality of all through preservation, education and performance of jazz, our uniquely American art form. This new venture promotes, preserves, and illuminates the true art forms of jazz, blues and gospel music.

Site 3: Walking/driving tour of downtown Tulsa. The downtown area is home to numerous examples of Art Deco architecture. There might even be an underground tour of tunnels running under Tulsa’s streets. Details are being finalized.

Field Session 4: Visit the Nations – Three sites

Cost $15.00 – Lunch on your own.

Site 1: Five Civilized Tribes Museum located in Muskogee explores the history and art of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations. This sandstone structure was built by the Federal Government to provide offices and a residence to the Indian Agency Superintendent for the five nations. Ownership changed hands several times becoming a school, an orphanage and a residence. In 1966, the site became the Five Civilized Tribes Museum.

Site 2: Fort Gibson was established in 1824 to control Indian problems and white incursion into Indian lands. The fort is a National Historic Landmark and has a Trail of Tears designation. Today's fort is a 1936 W.P.A. replica 1/3 the size of the original. It has 20 plus rooms furnished for the period and four out-buildings of the earlier era. Atop the hill are the post Civil War era bakery, hospital, barracks and museum.

Site 3: Hunter's Home located at Park Hill was built in 1845 in the New Cherokee Nation by George M. Murrell. Murrell was a native Virginian who married Minerva Ross, a wealthy mixed-blood Cherokee/Scott and niece of Chief John Ross. The Murrell Home is the only remaining antebellum plantation home in modern-day Oklahoma. The home contains original and period artifacts, furnishings and is currently undergoing restoration.

Field Session 5: Tallgrass Prairie Preserve & Pawhuska Museums -- Two sites

Cost $15.00 – Lunch on your own.

Site 1: Tallgrass Prairie Preserve - The Preserve is managed by The Nature Conservancy. They have reintroduced bison at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve as a critical part of the restoration of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Visitors to the preserve can usually see one or more small herds of bison by driving the 10-mile bison loop, though bison are constantly on the move and may be hidden by the rolling prairie terrain.

Site 2: Pawhuska, Oklahoma capital of the Osage Nation, attributes much of it's rich history and culture to the Osage tribe. Their fascinating history is chronicled in the Osage Tribal Museum, the oldest continually operating tribal museum in the United States. In addition, we’ll visit the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church widely known as the Cathedral of the Osage. The large church has a beautiful sanctuary adorned with a marble altar and 22 stunning stained glass windows. Two of them are historically significant, as they depict Osage tribal members still living at the time, requiring special dispensation from the Vatican. These windows are a must-see and have been described as some of the best American and foreign stained-glass in the United States.

Hear about Wild West outlaws such as Jesse James, Belle Starr, and Bill Doolin who hid out in the hills around Pawhuska (Bob Dalton was even the Osage Police Chief!) Many other famous people have had ties to Pawhuska: Herbert Hoover, Tom Mix, Clark Gable, Bob Wills, Ben Johnson, and more. Oil Barons such as Frank Phillips and Jean Paul Getty sat under the "Million Dollar Elm" in Pawhuska to bid for the Osage oil leases which helped make their fortunes. Or, would you believe that the first Boy Scout troop was founded in Pawhuska?

Field Session 6: Behind the Scenes and On the Trail – Two sites

Cost $7.00 – lunch on your own.

Site 1: The Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum established in 1927 this 75-acre facility exhibits over 4,000 animals.  One of the Zoo’s most unique facilities, the Robert J. LaFortune North American Living Museum (NALM) is a four-building complex, each building representing a region of the continent.  In addition to being accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Tulsa Zoo is also an accredited museum.  The NALM buildings were the first to incorporate this “Living Museum” concept. 

Site 2: Redbud Valley Nature Preserve managed by Oxley Nature Center through the City Tulsa Parks and Recreation was the first Nature Conservancy Preserve in Oklahoma. Today it protects the natural diversity of 220+ acres of unique plant and animal life. Rugged features and specialized micro-habitats, some common to areas as diverse as the Ozarks and southwest Oklahoma, may be enjoyed in a one-mile trail loop. Hike, look for fossils as you enjoy layers of history in the limestone bluff or glimpse previews of spring. An Oxley volunteer naturalist will lead you over the hill (where tarantulas, narrow-mouth toads, scorpions and cactus dwell) and into the valley (where small caves, smoke trees and blue ash occur).