Sunday Funday: Folding Fans to Beat the Heat

June 13, 2021 | 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM CST

One Sunday of the month, the Neill-Cochran House Museum opens its doors to feature hands-on activities, scavenger hunts, and space to enjoy lunch in the shade. Though this version will be more sanitized and socially-distant than previous iterations, we hope you and your family take the opportunity to come out and do some crafts with us.

We wish we could do a workshop on the development of air conditioning (which really was about reducing humidity in factories rather than temperature in houses and public buildings in the beginning), but that’s a little bit too complicated for a Sunday at the museum. Instead, we decided that the next best thing was to look at other ways that people kept cool before air conditioning became the norm.

This Sunday only, we'll have fan making materials available on our front lawn free with any admission (remember that kids under 12 are free). Fan designers will have their pick of papers, strips of wood, and rivets to build and decorate their own fans. Stickers, stamps, markers, pencils, pens, magazines to use for collage, and souvenir photographs of the Neill-Cochran House will all be available to make stunning or simple designs--and a practical fan! This activity is appropriate for all ages (adults included!), but children younger than 8 will likely need the help of an older child or an adult.

Our monthly Sunday Funday series is free with the price of museum admission. This is a drop-in event; it is not necessary to arrive at 1:00pm nor stay until 4:00pm to enjoy the activity. Though this activity will be taking place primarily outdoors, we still ask that all visitors wear masks at all times on the museum property. The Neill-Cochran House Museum is happy to provide free parking for our guests.