Open House at Hudson-Meng Education and Research Center

Crawford, NE., August 25, 2016 - The Hudson-Meng Education and Research Center (HMERC) is hosting an Open House on Labor Day weekend. Admission is free to all special events, and the regular admission fee at HMERC will be waived. 

From 10am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, HMERC visitors can watch and participate in a flint knapping demonstration. Knapping is hte process of shaping flint to produce stone tools.

Visitors can participate in tossing the atlatl at the target 'buffalo'. The atlatl is a primitive spear used by ancient people in buffalo hunting. At the craft area, children can even make their own atlatl to take home.

The Black Hills Parks & Forests Association will be providing free hotdogs, cake, and drinks on Saturday and Sunday from 11am thru 3pm at HMERC. Guests are encouraged to bring water, sunscreen, and camp chairs to make themselves comfortable for outdoor events.
 

To reach HMERC, travel four miles north of Crawford, NE on highway 2 &71, turn left onto Toadstool Road and travel eight miles; then turn onto Sand Creek Road, driving for seven miles, building, and take the path on the left to reach the Center. 

The HMERC has been open to the public since 1999; regular visitn hours are 9am to 5pm. The Center operates on a limited schedule after Labor Day; it will only be open Wednesday through Sunday for the rest of September. The Center closes September 30, 2016 and will reopen in May 2017. For more information, call HMERC at (308) 665-3900.

Additional weekend activities in the area

Tawnya Waggle, a Passport in Time Volunteer, will start hte weekend with a Friday Night Talk, on September 2, at Chadron State Park at 7pm in the Trading Post. Volunteers for Passport in Time work in a cultural heritage resources program associated with the US Forest Service. Waggle's topic will be, "The Franey Cache in Western Nebraska." In the Paleoindian period, caches were deposited on the landscape for later retrieval, The Franey Cache contains unusual lithic artifacts (stone tools) and even a mollusk shell native to the Caribbean.

On Saturday September 3, Eric Alt will lead a one-hour hike at Toadstool Geologic Park, beginning at 8am. Alt is a Geology Intern with the US Forest Service. The Park gets its name from the massive sandstone blocks perched on narrow pedestals of sediment, created by an ancient river that flowed through here. To drive there, take Highway 2 & 71 north of Crawford for four miles, then turn on Toadstool Road and follow it about 15 miles.

For more informaiton about these and other upcoming events hosted by Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands, call (308) 432-0300 or visit NNFG offices at 125 North Main Street in Chadron, NE.