Spurlock Sunday: Lessons from Summer ‘School’ with Hand Made Ice Cream (S.T.E.A.M.)

• Event Date: Sunday, September 14, 2025
• Time: 1:00 pm–3:00 pm (CDT)
• Location: Collaboration and Community Gallery, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL
• Age: All ages welcome
• Cost: Free

• Hands-on
• Family-Friendly tag

Because an education isn’t something one can finish, learning is ongoing and transcends the classroom. Many of life’s most memorable lessons occur during unscripted educational experiences, which summers provide ample of.

Due to America’s agricultural roots, summers have long interrupted the routine of school learning. In Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” educational experiences covering the course of two summers and several front porches anchor the entire plot of what unscripted learning looks and feels like from a child’s point of view. And the outside-inside quality of front porches (exterior though intimate spaces where neighbors can socialize) have allowed them to serve as sites where learning mostly occurs by alternating between questioning and listening; and teaching, by freely contributing wisdom from one’s experiences in ways that activate the satisfaction of one’s listeners. Public storytelling might be the oldest human art form.

Architecture influences human behavior, and our evolving behavior influences the architecture we design and how we behave inside it. While Spurlock doesn’t have a front porch (yet), but we can provide an intimate space in which we can socialize as though we do. Join us to make hand-made ice cream celebrate the end of summer, and either tell or write about an educational experience from summer.

Possible ponderings over ice cream:

• ‘What' did you learn, through choice or chance?
• ‘Where' did your learning occur during Summer?
• ‘Who' came back, and ‘Who/What parts’ do you no longer invite (into present life)?
• What piece of wisdom would you give to the adults you most love?

About the Series:

Spurlock Sundays are free, drop-in programs held on one Sunday of the month from 1:00–3:30 pm. Programs are open to visitors of all ages and developed with youth and family in mind. Spurlock Sunday activities can take a multitude of forms, from crafts, games, performances, topical open-mic sharing, community conversations, and hands-on experiences with cultural artifacts.

Header photo generated by mhmdyatt on Adobe Stock