The retro video game "The Oregon Trail" might be fun, but life on the actual Oregon Trail wasn't. The elements on the Oregon Trail were unrelenting, the typhoid was real, and a butt might never recover from endless hours spent bouncing on a wooden wagon seat. Independence, Missouri's National Frontier Trails Museum (318 West Pacific, 816-325-7575) is always a good place to get a better idea of the hardships faced by pioneers. And in addition to all its usual informative exhibits, the museum is showing an educational movie every Sunday this month.
The Oregon Trail, a four-part documentary, started last week with "The Beginnings." But you can jump into this week's screening of "Across the Plains" at 2 p.m. Come back for "Through the Rockies" and "The Final Steps" in subsequent weeks. The film screens for free; regular museum-admission rates apply. See
frontiertrailsmuseum.org for more information.
Sundays, 2 p.m. Starts: Jan. 3. Continues through Jan. 24, 2010
