“I’ve got it,” he cried, stabbing his pencil skyward. Staring down at the puzzling shapes below had brought the poor fool to the brink of tears, but now, with time running short he could finally breathe easy. A hasty scribble later, his heart was content as he approached the desk. Folding his paper with care, the man departed into the blustery evening air, secure in the belief of his own infallibility.

“Those questions were too easy for someone who has lived in Jasper for so long,” he thought to himself as he passed by the dog park. “I wonder what my prize will be?”

The next day at work, his curiosity burned into the back of his brain as he completed his usual tasks. At noon, he could take it no longer and he practically sprinted to the museum to revel in the glory that was sure to come. As he drew near the doors, he spotted the paper taped to the glass. His heart in his mouth, the man approached. 

He scanned through the answers, nodding in satisfaction as he did. Then, disaster. How could it be? Surely the staff had made a mistake, he thought as he briefly considered bursting in to demand a review. No, no, he could not, for it was true, and what an embarrassing thing to have mistaken. His head bowed, he returned the way he came, with the haunting whisper of “wait ’til next year” echoing in his defeated ears.

Don’t let this happen to you! Brush up on your local history before heading to the museum for the History Mystery Challenge next Thursday (January 19). Make sure you know the difference between a pick-axe and a piton, a white-tailed deer from an elk or whether a  Parks-felled tree makes a sound in the forest.  A display case of items to be identified will be found in the lobby. Entry forms are available on the main level and the results will be posted the following day. The museum’s opening hours on Thursday run from ten in the morning until five in the afternoon. Good luck!