The other day I wrote about the beauty of Blanchard Springs Caverns and our campsite at Gunner Pool in Arkansas. On our last day in Arkansas, we decided to head on over to Ozark Folk Center State Park. This state park is full of craft exhibits and folk music shows that let you catch a glimpse of how life used to be in a simpler time. Children can see how candles, soap, leather goods and even knives or dolls were made back before technology took over. I loved it because it carried on with our "unplugged theme for the summer.














The park is pretty big and easily takes several hours to explore at your own pace. We were there at 10am when they opened and left around 3pm and still didn't see it all. The boys really enjoyed all the exhibits, but particularly liked the ones that had a hands on demonstration like the copper works area, where the woman gave an instruction on how they heat up the copper to bring out different levels of colors and brush strokes on the pieces.




For children ages 7-12, there is also a program available called the Young Pioneers. Children can go to the Shannon Cabin to attend special programs, activities and crafts at different times throughout the day. The boys attended the 11am and 2pm sessions the day we were there. The first time, they learned about old handmade instruments and put on a concert for the parents at the end. I was able to have a half hour break from the boys, so I was all for it. The second time, they learned how to write with quills using homemade ink of berries.

All in all, this was a great little hidden gem of a park and we thoroughly enjoyed our stop there. If you are ever in the area visiting Blanchard Springs with children or without, I highly suggest you stop by.

{Visitor Information}

The Ozark Folk Center State Park is open everyday but Mondays. The rate for adults for the craft section is $6 and $4 for children ages 6-12. The music show is another $12 per adult, but combo tickets are available if you are interested in both.