Indigenous Day focuses on sharing Native American culture with youth

Ann Hannibal, spokeswoman for the Natural History Museum, said attendance of Monday's event was capped at 500 visitors. While she was unsure if the event met its limit, it filled every hall.

"There's just been this wonderful energy that surrounds this event," Hannibal said.

Hands-on activities also were available throughout the museum, giving guests a chance to learn about traditional sand painting and to make their own Fremont tribe figurines, natural duck decoys and decorative magnets depicting the state's rock art.

Jaynie Hirschi, an archeologist for Hill Air Force Base, helped visitors sculpt their own Fremont figurines out of sandstone-colored clay. She said she hopes the outreach program will be able to participate in future events and raise awareness about base's archeological efforts on its Utah testing grounds. 

Burt and Brenda Matthews of Fruit Heights said they brought their young children to the event in hopes of helping them respect and admire history and other cultures.

"It's knowledge," Brenda Matthews said, "and the more knowledge they have, the more successful they'll be growing up."

E-mail: mromero@deseretnews.com

Twitter: @McKenzieRomero