Students from the St. Anne’s School in Lodi travelled back in time at the San Joaquin County Historical Museum to learn about life in California from the mid to late 1800s.

Children in costume walking near a stone structure outdoors.
Children in historical clothing gather outside the "Calaveras School," a small white wooden building.
A boy in vintage-style clothing walks down wooden steps outside a white house.
Abram Jordan exits the Calaveras School during the Valley Days program at the San Joaquin Historical Museum in Lodi, California, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. Activities included educational lessons that were accurate to the late 1800s. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia/CatchLight Local/Report for America)

Students started the day at the 1866 Calaveras School House with lessons and then branched out to life skill stations. Activities included corn milling, print making, gold mining, leather stamping, clothes washing and blacksmithing.

Reflected scene through a glass window showing children in period costumes and a person in a blue bonnet.
Students participate in printing and blacksmithing activities during the Valley Days program at the San Joaquin Historical Museum in Lodi, California, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. Activities included educational lessons that were accurate to the late 1800s. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia/CatchLight Local/Report for America)

The Valley Days program originated in 1982 and is hoping to see the construction completed of their village expansion in 2026.

Two boys dressed as cowboys wash clothes in a metal tub during an outdoor activity.
Children washing clothes with a washboard in a metal tub filled with soapy water outdoors.
Two boys dressed as cowboys wash clothes in a metal tub during an outdoor activity.

Students break for lunch and then spent the second half of the day learning inside the museum.

  • Children panning for gold in a water trough outdoors.
    AJ Moreno, second from left, smiles as he pans for gold during the Valley Days program at the San Joaquin Historical Museum in Lodi, California, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. Activities included educational lessons that were accurate to the late 1800s. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
  • Person using tongs to adjust metal in a flaming forge, surrounded by blacksmithing tools.
    Adam Phan leads the blacksmith activity during the Valley Days program at the San Joaquin Historical Museum in Lodi, California, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. Activities included educational lessons that were accurate to the late 1800s. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
  • Children in bonnets using letter stamps at a crafting table.
    Left to right, Guinevere Hernandez, Isabella Garcia, and Gabriela Zamora participate at the leather stamping station during the Valley Days program at the San Joaquin Historical Museum in Lodi, California, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. Activities included educational lessons that were accurate to the late 1800s. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
  • Crafts setup with metal engraving tools and stamps on a wooden surface.
    Leather stamping tools are used during the Valley Days program at the San Joaquin Historical Museum in Lodi, California, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. Activities included educational lessons that were accurate to the late 1800s. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
  • Children working with a printmaking device, one wearing a black hat and plaid shirt, the other in a blue floral dress.
    Lucca Russo, left, and Moira Dietrich, right, sort letter printing blocks during the Valley Days program at the San Joaquin Historical Museum in Lodi, California, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. Activities included educational lessons that were accurate to the late 1800s. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
  • A person using a printing press with her reflection visible in a nearby mirror.
    Aaron Jordan prepares to print a name on a wanted poster during the Valley Days program at the San Joaquin Historical Museum in Lodi, California, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. Activities included educational lessons that were accurate to the late 1800s. (Photo by Annie Barker/Stocktonia/CatchLight Local/Report for America)