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Show Low Museum uses former jail cell to teach school groups about local policing history
Summary
A museum docent at the Show Low Museum led school groups through a former jail holding cell that housed the Show Low Police Department from 1970 to 1994, describing the bunks, limited meals and phone calls, and the exhibit’s sensory details used in educational tours.
A museum docent at the Show Low Museum led visiting school groups through a former jail holding cell that the Show Low Police Department occupied from 1970 to 1994, demonstrating the space and describing how it was used.
The docent said, "When the school kids come in the cell, they're always very excited to crawl on the bunks," describing a three-bunk arrangement in the cell and a display resident the docent identified as Louise. The docent told students how, historically, a person being processed would be fingerprinted, brought into the cell and given one meal and one phone call.
"They get one meal. And it's a very dry bologna sandwich," the docent said, and noted that the single phone call carried limits — children are told they "can't call mom or grandma or grand dad and say, 'Hey, bring me a hamburger from McDonald's.'" The docent also asked students to look for windows and privacy; the lack of both is part of the exhibit's lesson about conditions in the cell.
The docent described how the exhibit includes an operative sink and toilet and demonstrated closing the toilet as a moment that often startles visiting children. "That's all it takes for these children to be scared stiff in the Show Low Museum," the docent said.
The docent framed the exhibit as part of the museum’s educational programming: the Show Low Museum hosts numerous school groups throughout the year and is in its thirtieth season in the building. The docent invited visitors to stop by during regular hours, saying the museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The presentation combined tactile interaction (children sitting on bunks or the floor), oral history about policing in the building from 1970 to 1994, and sensory demonstration to convey the constraints of a holding cell. No formal policy changes or decisions were discussed during the tour; the event was described as an educational program rather than a city or law-enforcement action.
