Dole Institute hosts family activities at Watkins Museum’s Tails and Traditions Holiday Festival

January 9, 2024 - Features

by Greta Hayden | Student Archive Assistant

Dole Institute Student Archive Assistants Greta Hayden and Riley Osterberg assist participants at the Tails and Traditions Holiday Festival.

On Saturday, December 2^nd, the Dole Institute of Politics hosted a craft table while promoting its mission at the Watkins Museum of History’s 10^th annual Tails and Traditions Holiday Festival. Student Archives Assistants Greta Hayden and Riley Osterberg along with Collections Student Assistant Raksha Shrestha represented the Dole Institute at the event.

A completed stained glass ornament in front of the Dole Institute’s stained-glass American flag.

Using plastic wrap, tin foil, and Sharpies, the Dole Institute’s stained-glass window of the American flag came to life in ornament form. The Dole Institute is home to the world’s largest stained-glass American flag with over 950 pieces of glass. Shrestha noted “the children’s genuine excitement and curiosity about the stained glass.” Several kids became excited when they realized they had seen the stained-glass flag before, some even visiting before with their picture taken. Other activities presented by the Dole Institute included a coloring page with Leader the dog playing with holiday lights.

The Watkins Museum of History estimated nearly 250 attendees at the event. Kids ranging from preschool to middle school partook in creating ornaments. “They loved the crafts and seeing the excitement when it was all said and done was really cool,” remarked Osterberg. Many kids expressed their excitement about hanging their ornament on their Christmas tree when they got home. Several families were already familiar with the Dole Institute, saying they had previously attended community events.

The Dole Institute was joined with several other KU organizations, including the Spencer Museum of Art, KU Museum Studies, KU Center for East Asian Studies, and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies.

Student Archive Assistant Riley Osterberg gives two thumbs up at the Dole Institute’s table before the Tails and Traditions Holiday Festival.

Special thanks to the Watkins Museum of History for hosting this annual event. Happy holidays!

Public education, including family and children audiences, is integral to the work and mission of the Dole Institute. Free primary source inquiry classes are available to K-12 students, KU classes, and scout groups either at the Dole Institute or off-site. We also offer interactive field trips and tours! Contact our public education manager, Julie Clover, for more information: jclover@ku.edu; (785) 864-1420.

Greta Hayden is a Student Archives Assistant at The Dole Institute, and a third-year student at the University of Kansas studying modern history and Italian studies. Hayden assists the archives staff and fellow students with archival projects. She has aided her supervisor, Julie Clover, in several civic educational programs hosted by the Dole Institute.

About the Dole Institute
The Dole Institute was dedicated on July 22, 2003, at the University of Kansas on Senator Bob Dole’s 80^th birthday. Home to the personal archives of both Senator Bob and Senator Elizabeth Dole, with a museum facility on par with the U.S. Presidential libraries, the Dole Institute has been a vibrant political forum promoting civil discourse, civic engagement, and idea exchange across the political spectrum for 20 years.