To schedule a Scouting Program at the Museum:

Westchester Township History Museum is an educational service of Westchester Public Library. Museum staff offer numerous programs designed to fulfill  a variety of Boy Scout and Girls Scout requirements. In addition to the programs listed below, museum staff are happy to work with Scout leaders to develop new programs for additional badges or special projects.

To schedule a museum visit please call Cobie Ball at (219) 983-9715, or e-mail her at

Important: Museum Scouting programs are open only to Scouts living in the Duneland School District.

Girl Scout Programs

Brownie Girl Scouts, Grades 1 – 3   Through the Years & Listening to the Past

Brownies will travel back in time by touring the Brown Mansion and learning what life was like in the late 1800’s in Chesterton. They will see clothes, kitchen gadgets. furniture and toys of the past and discuss how they differ from those of today. Brownies will also learn about and play some of the games children enjoyed in the past and, do a simple craft.

Junior Girl Scouts, Grades 4 – 6    Local Lore

Scouts will learn to identify architecture from three different periods of history and will tour the Brown Mansion, examining the architectural details that make it an example of Queen Anne Victorian architecture. Scouts will also study a variety of historic local maps to learn how Chesterton and Porter have changed over the years and hear stories and legends about the area’s  history.

Cadet Girl Scouts, Grades 7 – 12    Heritage Hunt and Museum Discovery

Cadet Scouts will receive a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum and learn how museum staff collect and preserve artifacts and how they design and install exhibits.

Scouts will meet with the museum researcher, who will discuss genealogy and explain how to make a family tree. Working with the Researcher, Scouts will begin work on their own family trees, finishing the project at home with the help of their families.

Boy Scout Programs

Tiger Cubs, Grade 1  Families of the Past

Tiger Cubs will tour the first floor of the Brown Mansion with their families and learn how life for children was different in the late 1800’s. Scouts will see clothes, furniture and toys of the past and talk about how they differ from their own clothes, furniture and toys. They will also learn about and play some of the games children of the past enjoyed.

Wolf Scouts, Grade 2   Native American Lore (Elective #10 c & f) and
                                                    It’s a Secret (Elective #1d)

Scouts will hear about the Potawatomi Indians that once lived in our area and  practice telling a story using Native American sign language. They will also learn twelve Indian word pictures and use them to create a beaded story belt to take home.

Wolf Scouts, Grade 2  Play a Game (Elective 4)

Scouts will learn to play a variety of games enjoyed by children of the past, including pie-tin washer toss, marbles, skittles, tiddly winks, pick up sticks, bean bag toss, and ring toss.

Bear Scouts, Grade 3   Art (Elective 9b)

Scouts will tour the Brown Mansion and view the original stained glass windows, painted ceilings, and decorative plaster and wood carvings. They will learn about the paintings on display throughout the house and then do an art  project.

Bear Scouts, Grade 3  The Past is Exciting and Important (Achievement #8)

Artifacts in the museum’s collection will bring alive the history of Westchester Township. Scouts will also hear excerpts from old diaries and learn how they are important to historic research. Scouts will also meet with the museum researcher and learn about genealogy, then begin work on their own family trees, finishing the project at home with the help of their families.

Bear Scouts, Grade 3   Indian Life (Elective 24)

Scouts will learn how the Native Americans lived in Westchester Township, from the Paleo-Indians to the Potawatomi Indians. They will see Indian artifacts that help tell the story of the area’s earliest people and learn  how arrowheads, stone tools, and animal skins helped them to survive.