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NILES — Though students in the greater Niles area are learning from home for the next several weeks, local educators and organizations are working hard to keep lessons interesting.

While the Fort St. Joseph Museum is closed to the public, the staff is working to carry out its mission remotely. Virtual tours and field trips, as well as historical photos and other information, will be posted on the Niles History Center’s Facebook page and websites several times a week.

The first video, which explains Niles’ history with the fur trade, is available now on the Niles History Center Facebook page.

“We are missing our regular visitors and with schools closed, field trips are being canceled, so we want to do something for the community,” said Christina Arseneau, director of the Niles History Center. “We have an opportunity to share local history and even reach an audience we were not engaging with previously.”

Arseneau said local history is important for making connections with state, regional and national history. For example, Fort St. Joseph, which was located along the banks of the St. Joseph River in present-day Niles, was part of a chain of fur trading posts built by France, England and Russia across North America.

Remote museum visits will explore this idea and more, including Niles artist and activist Lottie Wilson, who campaigned for women’s rights on the national stage.

People will also be able to “tour” the Chapin Mansion. One-hundred years ago, the mansion became an auxiliary hospital wing during a major influenza epidemic. The History Center will explain more about this in a future video.

During this closure, history center staff will also work on a collection inventory and update its storage areas and first floor exhibits. HVAC installation at the History Chapin Mansion and Fort St. Joseph Museum is proceeding on schedule.

“It will be a new experience for visitors once we reopen,” Arseneau said. “We are hoping that our virtual visitors will come and see us in person and that we can start scheduling field trips soon.”

The Fort St. Joseph Museum is scheduled to reopen April 15. The Historic Chapin Mansion will resume tours in May.

Visit nileshistorycenter.org for more information about the history center.