Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site invites the public to “squish some history between their toes” and learn about our local “adobe” soil and its many uses throughout history at “Mud Mania: A Celebration of Adobe.” Guests will make real adobe bricks, plaster a wall with mud, construct a mini-adobe home, compete in mud relay races and much more. This event will take place Sunday, August 17 at Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site, which is located at 4600 Virginia Road, northwest of the intersection of Long Beach Boulevard and San Antonio Drive from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children 4-12.
Warning: Children may have way too much fun being covered in mud! With a large mud pit, an archaeological dig and many muddy activities, “Mud Mania” is the perfect venue for children and adults who love to get dirty. As guests slither and squish through the gooey mud, they will learn all about building homes with adobe bricks. Digging through the adobe soil, they can uncover lost treasures from bygone years- fragments of kitchen pottery, metal cutlery and even bone from the cattle and sheep that once grazed on the 27,000 acre Rancho.
Participants will also have an opportunity to explore how worms improve soil, make a clay pot, and play mud-related games. For those who prefer to stay neat and tidy, “Mud Mania” offers plenty of “clean” activities including cuneiform writing on clay tablets, Mud Mania trivia, and paper crafts.
Entertainment will be provided by The Witcher Brothers, who will be performing bluegrass music throughout the event. Light refreshments will also be available for purchase.
No more than six children allowed per adult. Shoes are required, except in the mud pit, and guests are encouraged to wear old clothes and bring a towel, plus a change of attire for the ride home. “De-mudding” stations will also be available for limited clean up but there are no showers. Due to the muddiness of the event, the adobe house will not be open for tours.
Adobe is one of the oldest and most common building materials known to man. Traditionally sun-dried, adobe blocks are made of sand, clay, water and straw and were used to construct the home at Rancho Los Cerritos- built 164 years ago in 1844. Today, Rancho Los Cerritos is one of the few remaining two-story adobes in Southern California.
For more information about the Rancho’s events call (562) 570-1755 or visit www.rancholoscerritos.org.
