By Amy Engblom, A.C.E. at MSU Activities Coordinator
Fall is a beautiful season in Bozeman for A.C.E. students to explore! The Fall 2015 A.C.E. at MSU Events calendar was packed with excursions to nearby caverns and corn mazes, as well as traditional holiday activities like Halloween pumpkin carving.
On September 11, 2015, A.C.E. students traveled to Virginia City and the Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. It was a beautiful fall day in Southwestern Montana and our trip started in the old gold mining town of Virginia City. We enjoyed seeing the train tracks and looking in the windows of the stores in Virginia City that were set up 1860’s style. We looked in the Jefferson County Court House, had a quick lunch at a café, and hurried off the tour of the caverns. The huge cave was a series of rooms and lighted stairways. Our tour guide was funny and we all were happy to get back out into the sunshine after an hour and a half tour!
Another fall activity was the Montana Corn Maze on Friday, October 23. It was a clear, crisp evening as 26 students traveled to a nearby farm to experience a traditional American autumn activity. We walked around the red barn to wait for the tractor and wagon that would take us out to the corn field. The maze was cut in the corn field in a special design and inside the maze were pictures of animals. We had to find the animal that was missing; the one who did not have its picture hidden in the maze. After the maze we took the tractor and wagon back to the farm buildings where a campfire was waiting for us. We enjoyed roasting marshmallows for making “s’mores”, a traditional American campfire treat. Then the singing began around the campfire, with students sharing songs in Arabic, Spanish, Japanese, and Turkish. We were laughing and talking all the way home. It was a night and an adventure to always remember!
October ended with an annual A.C.E. tradition at the Halloween pumpkin carving party on October 30, 2015. This year, participants included students from Japan, Mongolia, Ecuador, and Saudi Arabia. One student was so busy carving his pumpkin that he seemed like a surgeon. Another student brought her small son to help. We shared candy, pretzels, and apple cider juice. At the end, we put small candles in our pumpkins and turned off the lights in the room. They looked so great all lit up! Some students took their creations back to their dorms or apartments to put outside for decoration.
Join us at A.C.E. at MSU and get involved in these activities and more!
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