The museum’s educators are pleased to introduce a new family program called “Fun with History!” As a first assignment, students should listen to this report by Steven Short on PBS Radio station KALW’s CrossCurrents program.

Short’s topic is Chief Marin, for whom Marin County is named. The students should pay particular attention to this assertion:

“Marin was successful with his own people, with the conquistadors, and then with the Americans.”

The assignment: research when the conquistadors and when the “Americans” were in California, then answer these questions:

1. According to Short’s report, how old was Chief Marin when he died in 1839? Round your answer to the nearest multiple of 100 years.
   
2. And how many English-speaking Americans (as distinct from the Spanish-speaking Californios) would he have had the opportunity to “be successful with” at that time? Round you answer to the nearest vehicle size that they could all fit in (subcompact, compact, midsize, fullsize, or minivan).
   

Have fun with history!

.

Shown: Crossing I (1994) by Enrique Chagoya. Acrylic and oil on paper.

.

Post from: the Museum of Folly (MoFo), internationally acclaimed museum of foolishness. Follow our director, Dr. Thom, on twitter.

Fun with history