PortagePointe extended their hospitality to the Keweenaw Time Traveler this week, inviting us to present to their residents. For those of you unfamiliar with the name, PortagePointe is part of the UP Health System-Portage and is home to 60 of our community's elders.

Our community elders have such wonderful memories, and the Time Traveler encourages the sharing of their stories. We began with a brief presentation explaining what the Time Traveler is and why we built it before breaking out into smaller groups. We make use of our Explore App on iPads so they could find where they lived, worked, and experienced those special moments. 

There were some natural storytellers present (Looking at you there, Evelyn!), and a few of the residents were just as captivated as we were listening to them share their memories.

We are always interested in presenting on the project and helping community members with sharing their stories through the Explore App. If we can present to your class or group, or help you with adding your stories to the Time Traveler, please email us at Keweenaw Time Traveler.

We had a fantastic time running a station for the Keweenaw National Historical Park's 2019 Copper TRACES program. This program is funded through the National Park Foundation and introduces area 4th graders to:

• Technology
• Research
• Art and Music
• Community
• Environment
• Service

This is our third year introducing students to the Keweenaw Time Traveler using GPS-enabled iPads. We teach them how to read and interpret the historic fire insurance maps within the Time Traveler by leading them on a walking tour along the Village of Calumet's Fifth Street. During this tour, they learn how to play detective, identifying which buildings are original, replaced, and altered. They also investigate the changing types of businesses that used to line the street. The enthusiasm of these young detectives is contagious! Big thank you to the Calumet Unit of the Keweenaw National Historical Park for hosting Copper TRACES and to all of the station leaders, teachers, and chaperones that make this happen each year.