Back in time – the Hunebed Center in Borger

During the autumn vacations Sonja and her family went again to Drenthe for a few days. A while before, we had been approached by the Hunebedcentrum in Borger to drop by to sample the atmosphere. The perfect combination, especially since our son had just finished studying the subject “Hunters and Gatherers” during history class. We could check right away whether he had really understood the subject matter.

Primeval weekend

We were also lucky because that very weekend (October 22 and 23) there was a primeval weekend. This meant that even more prehistoric people were present at the park who could teach us all about daily life in prehistoric times. These primeval people were employees of the Hunebedcentrum and archeology students. This, of course, made our visit extra fun.

The Hunebed Museum

The Hunebed Center in Borger actually consists of two sections. There is an indoor section where you can interactively learn all about the people of that time. Children can do all sorts of things themselves, such as answer questions on the computer and build their own dolmen in the sand. Outside is another whole area with all kinds of boulders, the boulder garden, where it is indicated which boulders they are and how old they are. And there is a whole outdoor area with different types of huts where you can clearly see how things were at that time. To top it off, a little further on in the woods of the Hondsrug is the largest Hunebed in the Netherlands: D27.

The crowds were not too bad

When we arrived at the parking lot at the Hunebedcentrum we saw the traffic controllers. For a moment we were worried: would it really be so busy because of that Oerweekend? But fortunately it was not that bad. Probably because there is also a huge hiking area around the Hunebedcentrum, many hikers like to park their cars here. In the museum it was really manageable in terms of crowds. After such a long trip we had earned something to drink. We also noticed a very special cake: the dolmen. We had to try that one!

The inside of the museum

Then it was time to explore the museum. We started in the inside part of the museum. This consists of two floors. Upstairs are mostly the do-things for kids and downstairs you will find the informative parts. It looks very nice, realistic and spacious. Also, everything is well explained and children can answer questions on the various computers. Everything in a very fun and playful way. Sonlief was unstoppable behind the computers. He knew the answers to almost everything thanks to history. Great for high school kids as well!

The outdoor part of the museum

But there is also plenty to discover outside. The boulder garden and hunebed D27 can also be visited without entering the museum. This is because hunebed D27 is located in a nature reserve. For the other outdoor activities you do need your ticket. Because of the Primal Weekend, extra activities were organized in addition to all the activities that are always there. For example, children were baking bread over a fire, making pots and you literally got a look into the past in and around all the huts from different periods. Sonlief, of course, had to do some archery. Ever since he saw The Hunger Games he has wanted to get into the sport the most. This archery lesson was obviously with a prehistoric twist, but that didn’t spoil the fun. He also hit the target right away!

Dolmen D27

It was really interesting to see exactly how things were in the past. For example, the first farmers lived with their cattle in one house! When we had looked around all over the outdoor area, it was time to visit the largest hunebed in the Netherlands. We were lucky to have the hunebed to ourselves for a while. With its 22.5 meters it is still quite a task to get D27 in one shot, but we succeeded! Cool to see that this old monument is still in such good condition. Then we made another tour through the boulder garden. It is almost unfathomable how long some of the stones have been in the world. Only then do you realize that man is just an insignificant creature. In any case, we enjoyed our visit to the Hunebed Center. Thank you for letting us visit!

Photos by OpstapmetLisa