May activities at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

COLLINSVILLE - Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site will feature a Nature-Culture Hike, Kids Day special event, and a Flintknapping Workshop during May.

 

            A three-mile Nature-Culture Hike around the Cahokia site will be offered Saturday, May 20 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.  The hike will be led by an archaeologist and a naturalist, who will discuss where excavations have taken place and what we have learned from these digs about different parts of the site.  They will also describe how the Indians utilized the plants and trees encountered on the hike for food, medicine, dyes, fibers, and other purposes.  The event is free, and hikers should dress for the weather and bring water and insect repellent.  The hike will be cancelled if it is raining.

 

            The 25^th annual Kids Day event will take place Sunday, May 21 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  There will be lots of hands-on activities and "kids" of all ages can learn to make arrowheads and pinch pots, identify animal tracks and furs, crack nuts and grind corn, and play Indian games.  Kids can also have Indian designs painted on their faces and learn to throw a spear with an atlatl.  The Kahok Dancers will perform interpretive Indian dancing, and storyteller Marilyn Kinsella will present Indian stories and legends.  Food and drink booths and kettle corn will be available.  Shuttle buses will transport visitors from the special event parking lot to the activity area.

 

            An Advanced Flintknapping Workshop presented by Larry Kinsella will be offered Saturday, May 27 from noon to 4 p.m.  Participants must have taken Kinsella's beginner's class or know how to make a "biface."  Pre-registration and a $30 fee are required, and all materials are included.  Flintknapping is the ancient craft of making arrowheads, spearpoints, knives, hoes and other chipped stone implements.

 

            Cahokia Mounds is now open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., including Memorial Day, Monday, May 29.  Guided tours are offered during May on Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m.  Self-guided tape tours are available daily through the free loan of a cassette player at the Information Desk, or the purchase of a Guidebook, available in 13 languages and Braille, in the Museum Gift Shop.  Visitors with disabilities may view a 17-minute video tour of the site upon request.

 

            Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is just eight miles from downtown St. Louis in Collinsville, Illinois, off Interstates 55/70 and 255, and Illinois Route 111, on Collinsville Road.  There is no admission fee but a donation of $2 for adults and $1 for children is suggested.  For more information call (618) 346-5160 or visit www.cahokiamounds.com.