Provo, UT

Oh what an adventure we had today! Originally, a friend and I had decided that we were going to go spend the day up Payson Canyon. Sadly though, it was closed, something I wasn’t expecting at all. Since that plan failed, and we were all out and about, we went in search of something else to do and we arrived at the Peteetneet Academy and Museum in Payson, Utah. I was a little worried that I would be bored because I am generally not a history fan, but I was in for a good surprise.

Peteetneet is open on Wednesdays, and By Appointment the rest of the week. We didn’t go on a Wednesday, so we were lucky that someone else must have made an appointment for earlier that day. The museum was awesome. I had never really seen it before, even though I lived across the street most of my life. I’d been to Peteetneet many times, but generally I was outside playing on the grounds. This former school is built on a hill, so it’s absolutely perfect for ice blocking in the summer and sledding in the winter, which I’ve done a lot. There is a smaller hill for young kids, and a bigger one for those of you that are seeking more of a thrill. Peteetneet also has a rose garden with a path, a playground, and an amphitheatre for events. But today, I finally got to see the inside of this awesome school.

On the main floor are four rooms, each with a different theme. The first one we visited was the Art Gallery. Today must have been our lucky day, because most of the artwork on display had been sold and would all be gone the next day and we happened to come the day before it left. I was happy about that. There was one piece that really caught my attention. It was the head of a zebra made out of wood, but it wasn’t just carved out of a single block of wood, it was tons of pieces cut out of different shades of wood and put together like a puzzle. It was amazing. I really have never seen anything like it in my life. One of the other rooms we saw was the Victorian room, which had different scenes set up to show what life was like back in those times. There was also a gift shop/old fashioned school house room, and the ancestor room. Both were pretty interesting.

Downstairs they had a replica of a blacksmiths shop and a western room. These were slightly difficult for us to get to, since both of us had our small kids in strollers and the elevator isn’t working yet (it’s a new addition to the school). So keep that in mind if you plan on taking kids. It’s worth a look, but it takes more effort. There were more rooms upstairs, but by that time, the kids were grumpy and ready to go home so we didn’t bother hauling them up the stairs for a look, but I’m sure they are just as interesting. I’m kind of glad that the canyon was closed, because it finally gave me motivation to get over my anti-history personality and check out the museum half of Peteetneet, and in the end it was totally worth it.