BLM Sponsors Lovelock Cave Days for Local Fourth Graders
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WINNEMUCCA, Nev. – On May 17-19th the Humboldt River Field Office will host the annual Lovelock Cave Days. In previous years, over 300 fourth graders from Winnemucca, Lovelock, McDermitt, and Orovada have toured the Marzen House Museum in Lovelock and Lovelock Cave for a day of fun-filled educational activities. The field office is excited to host the event again as the event was paused due to the pandemic over the last two years.
The event is sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management as part of Nevada Archeology and Historic Preservation Month. Lovelock Cave Days was first held in 2006 in honor of the 1906 Antiquities Act Centennial and has since become an annual event which has grown in popularity with each passing year.
While at the Marzen House Museum in Lovelock, the students will see artifacts from Lovelock Cave and learn about local history that included early mining, agriculture, vintage houses, and how people lived in earlier times. Native American speakers present local tribal culture and history, which is always a highlight of the event.
“As a proponent for engaging youth in the outdoors, the BLM is particularly proud to sponsor this event. We have worked hard to put together a fun, educational, and memorable event for the students,” says Kathleen Rehberg, Humboldt River Field Office Manager.
At Lovelock Cave, classes will provide interactive stations focused on the local tribal culture, ethnobotany, emigrants, and the archeology and geology of the cave. Other popular activities include a simulated atlatl throwing game and wildlife presentations, including one by the Nevada Outdoor School. Other presenters include WD BLM employees and retirees, as well as presenters and facilitators from the Marzen House Museum, Coeur Rochester Mine, and various other volunteers. The students will receive Lovelock Cave Junior Ranger Badges for their successful completion of the day’s activities.
Lovelock Cave is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was used by Native peoples for thousands of years to store items such as the famous Lovelock Cave duck decoys, which at 2,000 years old, are the oldest in the world. For more information about the event, please contact Shannon Deep, Archeologist for the Humboldt River Field Office at 775-623-1500.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.