Will's Wild West Kids Camp Honors Oklahoma's Own Will Rogers

A camp in honor of Oklahoma's Own Will Rogers is teaching kids about life in the Wild West.

Will Rogers Memorial Museum has been hosting "Will's Wild West Kids Camp" for a decade.

"We have developed something that families feel comfortable year after year bringing their kids to and when they have a new kid, they are going to bring them as well," Historian and Will Rogers interpreter Bart Taylor said.

There are 140 kids aged 5 to 12 years old at the camp. None of them grew up in the 19th century but are learning what it was like back then.

"Will Rogers was born in 1879 and there were no screens available," Taylor said. "So, we like to say this is screen free fun the kids are having."

The kids get to play traditional Cherokee games like stickball and the game of Graces out on the lawn. On the back porch is an old water pump and cow milking station, both chores Will Rogers used to do as a kid on his family farm in Oologah. Inside, the kids can learn to churn butter and compete in derby races. 

By the end of the second day, each camper is given their own trick rope and taught how to use it.

"Not only are they going to hear about Will Rogers, but they are going to make memories learning their first rope trick, shooting their first BB gun, riding their first Stagecoach, and learning about Cherokee heritage," Taylor said.

However, the most important thing he hopes the kids take away from the camp is one of Will Rogers most famous quotes.

"I never met a man I did not like is what we are trying to connect them to," Taylor said. "Being friends with everybody, and being empathetic, but also being a goofball from time to time, too."

Every camper will leave with a cowboy hat, trick rope, and t-shirt. Registration for next year's camp opens in April.