History teachers and those interested in history, who want to register for the 22nd Annual “Exploring Pathways to Excellence” history conference must register by today.

The conference will be held Oct. 10 in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Tom Vance, manager of the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site, will speak during the conference’s luncheon in the Grand Ballroom of the union.

Vance will speak about “Hands-on History: Using Historic Sites as Experiential History Laboratories.”

Vance said he will discuss how historic sites can be used as a classroom for children by experiencing history and teaching it to others.

He said he has programs at the Lincoln site where fifth graders come out and live the day as children did in 1845.

The children dress for the day in periodic clothing of that time. In the morning, the boys do various chores such as working with a team of oxen and collecting firewood.

Meanwhile, the girls prepare the noon meal and sew quilt blocks. In the afternoon, the children make candles and play period games, Vance said.

“It’s a hands-on learning experience and gives (the children) more direct experience,” Vance said.

Vance said he has been a naturalist in the past, giving nature talks at Kickapoo State Park in Danville. He also has overseen more than 15 historic sites being moved and restored.

Vance said the goal of the conference is to give teachers ideas to help them teach better.

“It’s a sharing of ideas,” he said. “When we go to conferences of historic sites, we get a lot of ideas from other sites. It’s like not having to re-invent the wheel.”

Topics for the various sessions include learning to integrate architecture into the social studies curriculum, incorporating actual historic artifacts into the classroom, the powerful delivery of social studies standards and aligning state learning standards with an activity-based history curriculum.

The fee for the conference is $34 and includes all presentations, a continental breakfast and a luncheon.

To register, contact the School of Adult Continuing Education at 581-5116.