USI’s Historic Southern Indiana to host teacher workshop October 10

The University of Southern Indiana’s Historic Southern Indiana and Indiana’s Historic Pathways will host a workshop for teachers from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT Tuesday, October 10 at the Orange County Community Center in Paoli, Indiana. The workshop, “Getting from Here to There: The Story of the Buffalo Trace,” is aimed at third, fourth and fifth grade teachers and interested members of the public. 

This year's workshop focuses on the impact of the Buffalo Trace, a pathway formed by bison migrating through southern Indiana and later used by Native Americans and settlers. Through expert speakers and a panel of fellow educators, participants will learn how this pathway tells the story of southern Indiana’s history and how to use innovative learning ideas to bring this information back to the classroom.  

Topics include: 

- The Buffalo Trace – David Ruckman, title boundary surveyor and author of Buffalo Trace: The Indiana Wilderness Road

- Surveyor’s Snapshot of Indiana in the 1800s – A.J. Ariens, Forest Archaeologist, Indiana Department of Natural Resources

- Cemeteries as a Teaching Tool – Noah Sandweiss, Cemetery Register Coordinator, State Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology

- Southern Indiana Railroad History – David Nord, Professor Emeritus, Indiana University

- The Role of Fire – Dan McGuckin, certified forester

- Teacher panel discussing innovative classroom projects and activities 

Registration is $10 and includes lunch and educational materials. The deadline to register is October 3. Registration can be completed online or by calling USI Outreach and Engagement at 812-464-1989. 

This program has been made possible through a grant from Indiana Humanities in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Historic Southern Indiana, a program within USI Outreach and Engagement, was created in 1986 to serve the southernmost 26 counties of Indiana. Its goals are to identify, preserve, protect, enhance, and promote the historical, natural and recreational resources of the region. It seeks to implement those goals through programs in historic preservation, history education, heritage tourism, community development and scenic byways. For more information, contact Historic Southern Indiana at 800-489-4474, 812-465-7014 or hsi@usi.edu.