Mendota museum to host bird house contest

The Mendota Museum and Historical Society opened a new exhibit on March 4 called “Timber & Talent.”

The exhibit, which will have different elements available at the Hume-Carnegie Museum, the Union Depot Railroad Museum and the Breaking the Prairie Museum, will showcase farm items that were made out of wood. The exhibit will run through the summer.

The Mendota Museum and Historical Society also wants to find a way to make it interactive and youthful. After finding a photo of children and their results from a 1918 bird house-making contest, it was decided a 2023 version of the contest would be fitting.

The contest will begin Sunday, March 19, as contest entrants, ages 6-12, can pick up supplies such as scrap lumber, patterns, and instructions to create their bird house from Hume-Carnegie Museum, 901 Washington St. The houses for birds needs to be turned into the Hume-Carnegie Museum by April 16. Although not announced yet, there will be prizes awarded for the contest.

Hume-Carnegie Museum is open 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and by appointment by calling 815-539-3373. The Union Depot Railroad Museum, 683 Main St., is open noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.