FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/p>\n
Friday, October 25, 2019<\/p>\n
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University’s W.K. Gordon Center for the Industrial History of Texas hosts free Friday Fun Days through Nov. 8 at the museum in Thurber.<\/p>\n
The weekly events for children begin today with Family Field Trip Friday, an all-day event specifically for homeschoolers, families and small groups.<\/p>\n
Participants get to choose from a variety of scavenger hunts tailored to offer a fun challenge for a variety of age groups. Activities help guide children on a journey throughout the center and encourage engagement with exhibits.<\/p>\n
Self-guided Friday Fun Days are free for families with children.<\/p>\n
Families are invited to follow their tour through the Gordon Center’s main exhibition, with a visit to Science Space, <\/em>a geology focused exhibition featured in the Changing Exhibits Gallery. Families also can use the center’s makers table, where the materials for several crafts will be available.<\/p>\n Folkway Friday, a free children’s program about the people and culture of Mexico, is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Nov. 1.<\/p>\n The program features a PowerPoint presentation with pauses to allow children to sample tastes, sights and sounds of Mexico. Class concludes with a “field trip” to the parking lot to smash a piñata.<\/p>\n This Mexican party favor will be decorated the previous night at the center’s trunk or treat party with its Día de los Muertos <\/em>theme. Children are encouraged to attend both free events.<\/p>\n Formation Friday, a one-hour learning session about coal, a building block of Thurber’s boomtown days, begins at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 8.<\/p>\n Attendees will learn about the formation and use of coal and get an idea of the controversy that surrounds it today. Children will visit the center’s resident miner and get a glimpse into the challenges and risks of this underground profession.<\/p>\n Children must be accompanied by an adult for Friday Fun Days.<\/p>\n Follow the W.K. Gordon Center on Facebook at https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wkgordoncenter<\/a> for activity hours and updates.<\/p>\n The W.K. Gordon Center, located in historic Thurber, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays at exit 367 on Interstate 20 between Fort Worth and Abilene.<\/p>\n Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.<\/p>\n Contact: Phil Riddle, News and Information Specialist Tarleton State University’s W.K. Gordon Center for the Industrial History of Texas hosts free Friday Fun Days through Nov. 8 at the museum in Thurber.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26786,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[424],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-events"],"acf":{"image":null},"author_meta":{"display_name":"keegan","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/keegan-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-590-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Arts & Events<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Arts & Events<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 6 years ago","modified":"Updated 6 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 25, 2019","modified":"Updated on October 7, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 25, 2019 12:00 am","modified":"Updated on October 7, 2025 9:49 am"},"featured_img_caption":"Brick building with large windows and a central entrance.","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26785"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54271,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26785\/revisions\/54271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
817-484-4415
priddle@tarleton.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"