(Photo by Evan Bevins) Joshua Mann, a historian with the Ohio National Guard, demonstrates the use of equipment carried by soldiers in World War II during Saturday’s All Ages History Camp at the Castle.

Having fun while learning isn’t only for children’s summer camps.

The Castle in Marietta held its annual All Ages History Camp Saturday, showing and telling participants about different aspects of American history during and after World War II. Attendees at the morning session got to see the equipment of U.S. soldiers during the war, hear about the experiences of a Japanese-American family in an internment camp and learn about rationing by making French toast.

“We took stale bread and turned it into a meal,” said Kyle Yoho, the Castle’s education director. “(During rationing), you were supposed to use your shopping supplies to the max.”

The afternoon session included presentations on Eloise (Burke) White, a Black woman from Marietta who served in the military and worked as a typist for the head of the Tuskegee Airmen; the use of plastics in World War II and the 1950s and ’60s; and the popularity of soda fountains in the ’50s.

“It’s a great opportunity for cross-generational learning,” Yoho said. “We treat everyone like a camper when they come here.”

(Photo by Evan Bevins) Castle Executive Director Scott Britton discusses the conditions in internment camps to which Japanese-Americans were relocated during World War II at the Marietta museum’s All Ages History Camp Saturday.

That means name badges and items to take home, like the French toast they made and replicas of World War II-era ration books.

Marietta resident Kimberly Johnson found the presentation by Castle Executive Director Scott Britton on the camps to which Japanese-Americans were sent during the war particularly interesting, as it was a subject she did not know much about.

“It’s just good to learn,” she said.

Britton described the conditions in the camps through the perspective of one family. He noted that the mother was a nurse who taught others in the camp about her trade. One of them went on to study nursing at Marietta College, one of four Pioneer students who spent time in the camps after President Franklin Roosevelt ordered their voluntary and then forced relocation in an effort to curb potential espionage following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Johnson’s son, Mitchell, appreciated the cooking portion of the morning.

(Photo by Evan Bevins) Marietta resident Kimberly Johnson watches as her son Mitchell mixes the ingredients for French toast during a presentation about World War II rationing at the All Ages History Camp Saturday at the Castle.

“I liked the hands-on stuff,” he said.

Paden City resident Patty Wright said she came for the World War II subject matter because she’s working on a book about her parents, who both served in the war and met when her father was hospitalized and her mother was a nurse. She enjoys history in general and wanted to check out what else the Castle has to offer.

“I want to come back for more things. This is so exciting,” Wright said. “I love this town.”

Information about upcoming activities at the museum can be found online at www.castlemuseum.org and on the Castle’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

(Photo by Evan Bevins) Joshua Mann, a historian with the Ohio National Guard, shows participants in the Castle’s All Ages History Camp Saturday an aluminum mess kit like soldiers carried during World War II.

(Photo by Evan Bevins) Marietta residents Trisha Miller, left, and Sara Bir make French toast during a presentation on rationing during World War II at the All Ages History Camp Saturday at the Castle.