Spy Day at the Community Heritage Center

by Hannah-Grace Leece

On June 12^th and 15^th, the Community Heritage Center (CHC) brought adults and children alike an entertaining event to decipher clues and learn more about Clovis history in a vibrant atmosphere during an event called “Spy Day.”

During this event, kids learned various “spy skills” through several activities in different stations at the venue. One of the stations allowed kids to create a decoder wheel to learn how to send a coded message or decode another secret message. The second engaged them in a fingerprinting activity, in which kids learned how to collect and analyze fingerprints, and the third taught them about invisible ink.

CHC Coordinator Vaughn Rios mentioned that the center is also family-friendly, allowing kids to interact with the exhibits and adults to learn about Clovis history through informational panels situated throughout the building.

Rios touched on the importance of events such Spy Day because of the educational aspects behind learning about one’s community. The exhibit is multigenerational, so kids and adults can both learn different things, but “everybody gets to learn in a different way and experience it in a different way.”

Learning and experiencing things is certainly a key component of the exhibit. The fascinating background of Clovis is prominently displayed while walking through the center, observing the historic weaponry and lifelike models of poppy flowers and other objects.

But this exhibit is not only to be observed with the eye. Rather, it is an interactive museum, allowing visitors to engage with the history of the community. CHC Coordinator Ruth Lang touched on this, explaining that “there’s always something there in this heritage center for everyone … little kids come and climb on our train or play with the little flume model.”

Interacting with the exhibit plays a pivotal role in the attraction of the Community Heritage Center, which can be seen through various assets in the area, such as the screen to quiz visitors on Clovis history or the video showing the founders of the Clovis Veterans Memorial District talking to one another.

Events such as these are not just for families to have something to do – they exist to strengthen the ties between Clovis residents and their community. Many Clovis residents are unaware of a Heritage Center even existing in the area for people to attend, and the Heritage Center is part of an effort to shine a light on the historic significance of this small but important community.