Cabot's Pueblo Museum

Cabot’s Museum Foundation’s mission is to promote and preserve Cabot Yerxa’s legacy of cultural respect, education, art, community, and the desert habitat.

Making a Difference is a multi-visit curriculum-based program, in collaboration with the Palm Springs Unified School District, that serves every 2nd grade student in Desert Hot Springs. The program begins with a classroom visit from a Museum Educator who introduces students to Cabot Yerxa, the man who built the Museum and helped found the city. Students learn about mapping by creating a grid drawing of their neighborhood including points of interests.

Within two weeks, students visit the Museum to finish their lesson. This is often the only field trip for students that year. At the Museum, students tour two rooms of the Pueblo. They see Cabot Yerxa’s living room, which he built to resemble a traditional Hopi-style Pueblo, and his dining room, which has been converted into his art gallery. During the tour, the students learn about life in the desert before modern conveniences (the Pueblo began construction in 1941), the recycled and reclaimed materials Cabot used to build the Pueblo, and his personal art collection, including postcards, which he sold to make extra income.

After the tour, students paint their own postcard outside in the desert landscape. The Museum then hosts a Family Night and opens the Pueblo and grounds to all the students of that school and their families. We gift each student a compass to take home and two complimentary passes so that they can return in the future. Making a Difference is an integral part of the educational experience of every 2nd grader in PSUSD, and an opportunity to influence and make a difference in the lives of our community’s youth.

Making a Difference aligns specifically with the CA.2.1. Content Standard: People Who Make a Difference. We have found that program creates a relationship with the Museum and an appreciation for Cabot Yerxa as a person who made a difference in the Coachella Valley. With this knowledge, students gain a sense of civic pride and an awareness of the impact they can make in their community.

Cabot’s Pueblo Museum hopes to inspire pride in the city of Desert Hot Springs and instill in students the knowledge that one person can make an impact and difference in their community. Cabot Yerxa lived throughout the United States as well as in Central and South America and Europe. He believed that the most beautiful place in the world was Desert Hot Springs. Our goal is for students gain admiration for our Museum and their city.