The Culture and Craft of Trees

Eli Whitney Museum

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2021 Summer Program

Each tree has a story. Each tree has a place in the forest and gifts that people rely on. This week we will look at oaks, walnuts, willows, birches, and white pines that live on the Museum’s site. We will get to know their practical purposes and the legends that surround them.

Sand and polish pieces of each wood to learn their weight and color. Construct a fandex to collect and remember the parts and stories of these trees.

Work on five major projects:
~ shape and construct a balancing acrobat of birch parts.
~ weave a basket of willow stems.
~ make a walnut treasure box.
~ carve and sail a small White Pine canoe.
~ sculpt a forest sprite from rustic oak branches

Chose small projects: make acorn tops, a willow whistle, bend a walnut veneer bracelet, play cricket with a willow bat, draw with willow charcoal, print with walnut ink , sample birch syrup, turn a birch top.


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