GILLETTE, Wyo. — Campbell County Rockpile Museum will join in the celebration of World Atlatl Day June 3.
Museum Director Robert Henning will lead instruction in a just-for-fun throw from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 3 in the field below the museum, which visitors can access via 1st Street, according to a news release. The event is free.
The atlatl and dart is the world’s oldest hunting system, the release said. People have found dart points and atlatl parts in numerous archeological sites in the Powder River Basin. For example, the Spring Creek Cave in the Big Horn Mountains has produced some of the best-preserved atlatls and darts dated to the seasonal migrations of the people associated with the Late Plains Archaic period, which was from 2000 to 1500 BP.
The museum will have three shooting lanes with 3-D Rinehart Pronghorn targets and booklets
containing some atlatl history and instructions on how to build an atlatl and dart system at home with paint stirrers and wooden dowels, the release said.
The museum will charge standard admission fees during the event.
For more information, call the museum at 307-682-5723 or visit www.rockpilemuseum.com.
