Kidfest Source of Educational Entertainment
June 26, 2009
By JENNIFER COLTON
Index-Journal Staff Writer
Greenwood, SC - The Museum filled with volunteers, children and their families Saturday as the community came out for Kidfest 2009.
An annual event, Kidfest takes place during S.C. Festival of Flowers Weekend to give young people a fun and educational activity during the summer. The theme for 2009 was “Physics is Phun” with activities ranging from kites and robotics to dry ice and interactive slime.
As special guest, David Slimmer gave three interactive performances filled with physics demonstrations. |
Daniel Turner decorates part of a kite Saturday during Kidfest 2009 at The Museum. An annual event, Kidfest organizers try to bring science-centered fun and educational activities to area children each summer. (Staff Photo by Jennifer Colton)
|
“It’s going well. It’s very exciting, and there’s definitely an enthusiasm from the crowd, which is always good to see,” Slimmer said between shows. “I go out to a lot of the schools for demonstrations and normally it’s just a small classroom. Coming to something like this, I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been good. Hopefully kids will get interested in science and why some of these things work.”
Laura Lumley, of Greenwood, applauded the number of hands-on activities at Kidfest, while her sons moved on from the slime they created in Slimmer’s first performance to a craft table.
“There’s a lot of hands-on stuff for the kids and a lot of visuals. They love that,” she said. “We came out because the kids are really interested in science. We came the year before last and really enjoyed the presentation, so we came back this year. I think it’s great.”
In addition to the performance space, both floors of the Museum filled with tables, crafts and activities. At one booth, students from Lander’s MAT program helped children decorate kites.
“Because the theme for Kidfest was physics, we thought this would be a good activities to allow kids to practice and learn about physics while being artistic,” program instructor Judy Neufeld said.
Student Avis Tuttle said the event brought in more families than she expected, and fellow student Catherine Whitten said Kidfest helped the five future teachers as well as the children.
“We’re helping kids learn about art because we want to be art teachers, and we’re volunteering here to get experience and because we love kids,” Whitten said. “It’s going really well so far.”
Other community participants included the Arts Council, Greenwood Robotics Interactive Partners (GRIP) and the Cyber Storm robotics team, a variety of costumed characters and the Girl Scouts.
While watching grandchildren Alyssa, Dylan and Nathan Gandee blow bubbles and make crafts at the Girl Scout centers, Marlene Banes said the family attended Kidfest to show support for the community and get the children involved.
“It’s a good program, more than we expected. We didn’t realize there would be this much to do,” she said. “The kids love it, and it’s educational.”
Downstairs, The Museum volunteer Ann Skinner helped children sift through rubble to find shark teeth.
“We like this because it’s hand on. The kids get their hands dirty, and they have to look really hard to find the sharks’ teeth. When they do, it’s very rewarding,” she said. “This whole event is really a good opportunity for the kids to learn and have fun during the summer. I think this is a really good turn out. That’s great to see.”
|