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One of OCTA's primary goals is to help to educate people about the westward emigrant trails. The story of the emigrant trails is immensely rich and spans not only the middle decades of the nineteenth century, but continues to influence our world today.
The stories speak to who we are and where our dreams can take us. Those stories live on all around us: in the ruts in the ground, in the traditions of our western states, in our pageants and festivals, in the descendants of the original emigrants, in the values that we cherish, in the landscape through which the emigrants passed, and in the signatures they left behind. In fact, it's hard to imagine what the United States would be like without having had the experience of the westward emigrants.
Our learning Center is organized to make it easier to research and find materials useful for understanding the varied aspects of the westward migrations. There is a vast range of materials and information about the West, but only some of this can be presented here. It is hoped that this will provide the basic information and encourage the door to be opened for deeper study. Some of the materials we have developed about the historic trails can be found in Classroom Resources. The center is divided into a number of useful sections: Classroom Resources; People & Places; Trail Facts; and a Virtual Trail.
Opportunities for Teachers and Students
As part of our plan to fulfill our mission statement, we sponsor different specific programs that we encourage teachers and students to participate in. We have long known of the time and effort that educators spend teaching the westward migration and the impact it has had on our history.
Our first program, the Outstanding Educator Award seeks to honor some of these outstanding educators and institutions for their fine work. The award includes a $250.00 honorarium. Learn more about this award and how to apply here.
Each winter we sponsor our second program, an activity book raffle for a class set of one of our specially developed activity books on the Oregon-California Trail, Mormon Trail, Lewis and Clark Trail and Pony Express Trail. Learn about it and how to enter here.
Our third program, our western calendar is produced in the spring. It uses students’ artwork based on a selected trail theme or related aspect. Each selected student receives a $50.00 prize. Learn about this year’s project and how to participate here.
Another program, often available during our annual convention, is for teachers who attend and participate in specific programs to receive college credit upon completion of certain required activities and papers. For information about the time and place of our convention and the availability and requirements of the program, please see our convention section of our website.
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