Spring Break Fun Friday
That's a Fun Friday grin if I ever saw one!
Let’s cut right to it, shall we? It’s the Friday of a spring break full of snow, snow, and more snow. What began as a lovely introduction to spring ended with what AK Kid calls a “lion day” of almost two feet of white stuff in the yard.
Fortunately it’s Friday and time for our weekly list of fun stuff for those looking for a last gasp of free time before a push to baseball season and the end of school. Lots of outdoor activity is happening this weekend, from weather to sled dogs to some pretty special athletes.
East High School is the site for Opening Ceremonies of the Special Olympics Alaska Winter Games. Athletes from communities around the state will compete in alpine and Nordic skiing, figure skating, unified floor hockey, snowboarding and snowshoeing all weekend. Tonight’s opening ceremonies are guaranteed to be pretty cool, with former All-Pro NFL star Matt Blair of the Minnesota Vikings and recording artist Jack Kapanka attending as special guests. Join the celebration at 6 p.m. at East, then plan to spend a few hours over the weekend checking out the many sporting events. Kincaid, Dimond Ice Chalet, Hilltop, and East High will be hosting events. Don’t miss the chance to cheer and high-five some pretty inspirational athletes. We attended the Local Games and it is cool, cool, cool.
Campbell Creek Science Center and 4-H are sponsoring another Science Saturday tomorrow from 1:30-3:30 p.m. on the grounds of the Science Center. Kids aged 8-13 and an accompanying adult will be learning about Weather and Climate Change, an appropriate and very hot topic right now (haha). There is still space available, so call Marianne Kerr at 786-6300 or email her at anchorage.4h@alaska.edu to sign up. Cost is $5 per person, with a one-time registration fee of $6.
Want to engage the kids in some “Gross Anatomy”? Good. Then head to Eagle River Nature Center for a dissection of owl pellets guaranteed to promote the ick-factor among your school-aged kids. Part of the Junior Naturalist Program, kids K-6 will spend time learning about what the heck owl pellets are, why the birds make them, and how cool it can be to take them apart. Space is limited, so call today and sign up at 694-2108. Check the web site for other upcoming programs as well. Good early spring stuff. Program starts at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
If your family hasn’t had enough of sled dogs yet, head to the Alaska Zoo tomorrow from 12-4 p.m. for IditaZoo, a fun family program to show kids the mechanics of dog mushing, Alaska’s State Sport. “Race” through the zoo grounds while playing the checkpoint game, learn facts about dog mushing, view the current Iditarod race standings, and get hands-on time with dog mushing equipment. Should be fun times and a doggone cool way to spend a Saturday! Call 346-2858 for more info or visit the Zoo’s web site.
The Muni’s Parks and Rec folks also want us to tell you that trails are groomed and ice rinks are hot mopped and ready for a great weekend of skiing or skating. The cold days and nights these past few days have created some primo conditions, with the exception of some trails near Westchester due to overflow conditions.
Have a great, active, AKontheGO kind of weekend! We’re heading to Fairbanks for our own version of winter fun; we’ll report back on Monday.
