History Explorers Camps

History Explorers Camps includes Kids on the Farm camp, Dakota Camp, Nature Detectives camp, and Life of a Gibbs Girl camp. Campers might go to school in a one-room schoolhouse, help with the weekly wash, run an errand to the local general store, work in the garden, and feed the Gibbs Farm animals. Activities also include playing marbles and horseshoes, learning about making homemade butter and tasting it, learning about Minnesota’s first people, the Dakota, past and present, and getting an introduction to the Dakota language through games about colors and animals. Campers may practice with bows and arrows, learn about the engineering involved with constructing a tipi, visit a replica bark lodge, hear stories, and sample traditional Dakota inspired food. They also search for clues about creatures living in the restored prairie, listen for songbirds, observe farm animal behaviors, do animal tracks activities, art projects, scavenger hunts, tour the historic Gibbs farmhouse, explore the restored prairie, host a Victorian tea party, make history inspired crafts such as beading bracelets, yarn dolls, and cornhusk dolls, and spend time outside with friends.

• Ages: 6–10 years old
• Schedule: Tuesday–Thursday, 9am–1pm
• Price: $150/session. Members of the Ramsey County Historical Society receive a 10% discount.

History Explorers Camps take place at Gibbs Farm, which interprets Minnesota life in the 1800s through pathways to Dakota and pioneer life. The camps are developed with Dakota partners, including instructors from the University of Minnesota’s Dakota Language Program. Ramsey County Historical Society lists Brandie Macdonald as Executive Director and states its mission as “Preserving our past, informing our present, inspiring our future.”

Last updated July 26, 2026.