Sadly due to the Camp Fire wildfire which swept through the Paradise Ridge on the morning of November 8, 2018, this program may be postponed until further notice. Our hope is to continue serving our precious school children and meeting the needs of area schools, but it may require some time to regroup and plan for alternative program sites until our Gold Nugget Museum and grounds have been rebuilt. Please contact us through this website for further information, or to provide your suggestions, concerns, and insights.

If you would like to contribute to our rebuilding process, please contact us as above or click on the link for our GoFundMe page.

The Maidu School Program

The Maidu Living History School Program, modeled on the settler program, was initiated in fall 2006. It was an instant success, with teachers from all over the North Valley calling to enroll their classes—many for this year, and as the word spread, many more for the following years. The program was developed with the cooperation and financial support of the Maidu community. 

The Maidu School Program provides third and fourth grade students with a hands-on experience of the Maidu way of life.  This program is written to fit with the California curriculum on Native American history by describing the life of the local Maidu, the Native Americans of Butte County.

The museum has been able to work with local Maidu to document many of the tools and musical instruments from their ancestors.  Many have donated replica tools to enhance the program.

Parents come with the classes and are trained to teach the students at each station.  The stations are food, grinding acorns and tasting tea, dance and music, gambling game, spear throwing, making a Bull Roarer, and the native garden to learn how the Maidu used native plants.

The students learn about the language by singing songs that have been saved on recordings.  

Dancing  with the musical instruments is a fun activity.

Learning to throw a spear to kill a bear.

Bull Roarers bring the rain.