Melissa Raveed - Manager of School Services

“Conner Prairie? I haven’t been there since 4th grade!”

I get that line a lot when I tell people I work for Conner Prairie. And honestly, I said the same thing when I started working here in 2008.

As the Manager of School Services, I am more than ecstatic that we have thousands of school-aged children visit us every fall and spring semesters with their schools. Last year, we had over 40,000 students, parents and teachers visit us on field trips!  But, as the buses pull away for the day, I think to myself, “Will any of these students be back? Will they bring their family and friends to share what they experienced?” Or will they too, 20 years from now, repeat the aforementioned phrase that I hear from so many adults when I mention Conner Prairie?

My job is to make sure that your child’s teacher is armed with all he or she needs to make their time spent at Conner Prairie the best learning experience possible. I create and find resources that will enable the teacher to use Conner Prairie to teach history, language arts, mathematics and science all at the same time.

But again, I wonder when that student will return here. Conner Prairie is a dynamic place- every day is different, depending on the weather, time of year and even what interpreters we have working in the historic areas. Even for me, there is something new to see each time I walk out onto the grounds.

My advice to parents- if you have a child coming to Conner Prairie on a field trip- sign up to be a chaperone, especially if the last time you were here was when you were your kid’s age. If you cannot do that, come and visit us after the field trip. Have your child show you what they liked the best about their field trip- even if it was the playground! Not only will your family have a great day out, your visit and interest in what your child experienced on their visit will help reinforce what they learned here and in their classroom.