Oklahoma Historical Society Holds Contests With Sites In The State

The Oklahoma Historical Society hopes its travel contest will make Oklahoma history more engaging and fun. There are 25 historical sites across the state, including a few near the Tulsa area.

Whoever visits the most sites by the end of March will not only win prizes from the historical society, but they will also have a deeper understanding of Oklahoma history because the historical society hopes that through this contest, it can reach out to the community.

"This contest is just a great way to connect to the community at-large, getting them excited about visiting the museums because when you visit a museum, whether you like it or not, you’re connecting to your history," Bart Taylor, a Will Rogers interpreter at the Will Rogers Memorial, said.

This travel contest also proves that history doesn't have to come from a book. It can be engaging and fun.

"We think that this is a great way for people to learn about the state where they live. History doesn’t have to be boring, and that’s evident when you go to the sites because there’s so much to do. It’s not just reading a book. You can see history through artifacts, through pamphlets, through living history, historical interpreters," Jessica Brogdon, the Oklahoma Historical Society public information officer, said.

Whoever does end up winning the contest could not only win a prize pack from the historical society, but they also have the opportunity to choose from one of two bigger prizes.

"One of those prizes is riding a keelboat at the Fort Gibson Historic Site, so it’s a historic boat ride, or one of my favorites, you can name a baby bison at the Pawnee Bill Historic Ranch," Taylor said.

Even if you can't visit all 25 historic sites across the state, it's likely that there is at leat one site relatively close by.

"We have more than two dozen sites across the state, things like historic homes. We have some old military sites over in Claremore, we have a museum dedicated to the life of Will Rogers, Oklahoma’s favorite son," Brogdon said.

In order to participate, you need to make sure that when you visit one of these sites to take a selfie, and post that picture to social media using #ExploreOHS in the caption.

To learn more about the Oklahoma Historical Society, click here.