SWEET HOME, Ore. — Thanks to an $8,000 donation by PacifiCorp Foundation for Learning’s Pacific Power Fund, 40 students from Sweet Home’s Oak Heights Elementary School will take an overnight journey into the history of the Pacific Northwest.

The Portland Art Museum’s “Discovery Project” brings elementary school children from rural and under-served communities in Oregon to Portland for a two-day, multidisciplinary educational experience with visits and hands-on learning activities at the Portland Art Museum, Oregon History Center and Oregon Zoo.  The Oak Heights visit takes place Feb. 17 and 18.

“Some of these kids have never been to Portland before, and it will be a whirlwind, overnight two-day study program for them,” said Diane Durston, curator of education for the Portland Art Museum.  “This is a great year for this program, particularly since we’re commemorating the bicentennial of Lewis & Clark’s exploration of our region.

The Discovery Project fills an important gap in curriculum, helping teachers reach benchmarks in art, language arts and social studies.  Plus, it’s a full two-days educational immersion for the children.  First they come to the museum and hear from a Native American storyteller.  Next they tour a special exhibition, “People of the River, Native Arts of the Oregon Territory,” which features art from local native tribes, and participate in related art making activities.

“We want to show that 10,000 years before Lewis and Clark arrived, there were Native People here with a wonderful culture and high level of artistic achievement,” Durston said.  The students keep a journal with sketches, much like Lewis and Clark did, and view reproductions of the explorers’ entries at the Oregon Historical Society.

Next the children get to ride the light rail to the Oregon Zoo, which for many is one of the highlights of the trip.  At the zoo, they’ll see the new salmon and eagle exhibitions. At night, they’ll do a guided journal writing exercise by candlelight.

The following day, the students return to the museum to learn how to make and decorate a “parfleche,” which was used by Native Americans to carry things of value to them.  The Sweet Home students will use them to carry their journals home that day.

“As soon as this year’s fourth graders started the new school year, they asked if they’d get to go on this field trip, so the experience made quite an impression on last year’s class,” Durston said.

Both the PacifiCorp Foundation and the Oregon Community Foundation helped fund the program, which brought students from Oak Heights to Portland last year.  The PacifiCorp Foundation for Learning is the charitable arm of Pacific Power.  The Discovery Project targets schoolchildren from rural and underserved urban communities, and at least 50 percent are in the Title 1 program.