BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Learning about Buffalo’s past can be found beyond the history book pages by stepping behind the doors of the Buffalo History Museum. Every third Friday of each month, the public can stop in for free.

“I think you understand people better when you understand history. When you can put yourself in the shoes of other people, and see the things they’ve been through, I think it helps us learn as people,” said Lauren Kausner, the museum’s education coordinator.

Apart of these free Fridays, the museum is launching their new Junior History Buffs program, a way to teach our newest generations about our city’s roots through crafts, lessons and a little music.

“Somebody told me once that when you tell a story you can either tell the story or you can be the story and that’s how I think of teaching,” Kausner said. “I think if you can be in history, and do it and experience it and live it just for a few minutes then you understand it in a much different way.”

Visitors can step through seven of the historic exhibits featured in the museum, including their “On the Shoulders of Giants: Innovation in Stained Glass” exhibit which adds an invitation to learning the innovation of the art of glass.

“People think about stained glass as something old that lives in old churches and we knew that we can change the perception of that,” said Morgan McElfresh, the executive director of the Stained Glass Association of America. “There’s a lot of innovation of stained glass today and we wanted to give buffalo a chance to see what our entire industry is up to.”

These free Fridays are open for all ages.