A delightful day trip to heritage village in Steinbach

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This article was published 19/06/2023 (1147 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We are always looking for something to do with our kids. We want them to grow up rich with experiences and memories of seeing little pieces of the world outside of our home, and of simply doing things.

When I say seeing the world, I’m not talking about grand vacations. I’m talking about the big and small moments when we leave the house to do anything, such as going to a park, a beach, a museum, a public pool or the zoo, on a bike ride, or renting a cabin for a weekend.

We try hard to get out of our homes and away from our screens to live a little.

Even though there is never a shortage of things to do, I often struggle to come up with ideas or plans. I get stuck in the pattern of the same old, same old. I broke out of that pattern earlier this month when my partner and our daughter hopped in our minivan and headed to Steinbach — the community he grew up in — for a little adventure at the Mennonite Heritage Village.

It never fails. When I think of Steinbach, that old automotive jingle (“It’s worth the trip to Steinbach”) plays in my head. I know Steinbach is much more than this jingle, or being the Automobile City, but I was an ’80s kid who grew up watching non-streaming TV programming filled with commercials. There are certain jingles, characters and old sitcom episodes that live in my head rent-free. The Steinbach ditty is one of them.

Off we went for a day trip to the heritage village, and it did not disappoint. As far as museums go, this one certainly had a way of opening up my eight-year-old’s big, beautiful imagination and inspiring play. As we made our way through the outdoor village of traditional homes and buildings, including a functional general store beside a blacksmith shop, we played and pretended our whole way through.

We stirred imaginary pots of soup atop old wood-burning stoves and took turns pretending to be the teacher in the archaic schoolhouse. We wandered through the old-fashioned buildings, climbing stairs and sitting in chairs and church pews. We looked through cupboards and pointed out which rooms and beds were ours. She sewed me an imaginary dress and asked me to make her some invisible coffee.

Nearly each time my daughter spoke, the first word out of her mouth was “pretend,” followed by a description or action she was making up in her head. We were on an adventure and had become villagers in a place out of her imagination. Each time we’d wander into a new building, we would eventually have to pry our daughter out of it to move onto the next.

Before we left, we each bought a ring made from horseshoe nails (if you know, you know) and some candy sticks from the general store.

The afternoon was nothing short of delightful. Both the museum and her imagination were wonderful places to visit. There’s another outdoor museum on the outskirts of Portage la Prairie (the Fort la Reine Museum) that we plan to check out next.

Thanks for the great day, Steinbach. It sure was worth the trip.

shelley.cook@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @ShelleyACook