Staff
Kids don’t have to spend their March Break just playing video games and watching TV as a number of activities are planned here.
The Fort Frances Museum will be running activities daily from 1-3 p.m., with the cost being $3.60/child per day.
Monday’s theme is “Maps, Maps & More Maps!,” where kids will be looking at historical and aerial maps, plotting routes, finding landmarks they recognize, and making their own maps (real or fictional).
On Tuesday, the theme is “A Trip to Canada in the late 1800s,” where kids will learn what to pack, how to survive in a strange new land, and where to start a home if they were living in that area.
They’ll also be building a model village.
Wednesday will feature a “writers’ workshop.” Kids will be taking a look at entries in historical journals, then creating their own diary pages from the point of view of their favourite character from a book or movie.
The theme Thursday is “Tradition & Symbolism: Creating a coat of arms for shield or banner.”
As the theme implies, kids will create their own personal coat of arms that best represents who they are.
And on Friday, the theme will be “Food colouring . . . using real foods to create dyes.”
Using coffee, cabbage, beets, onions, and turmeric, participants will find out how to colour eggs as their pioneer ancestors would have done (be sure to wear clothes suitable to the activity).
To reserve your spot or for more information, call museum curator Sherry George at 274-7891.
The Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre, meanwhile, is giving kids the chance to explore space next Wednesday and Thursday (March 14 -15).
The library will be participating in a videoconference to provide kids with the opportunity to learn about the lives of astronauts in space from an expert at NASA and an educational director from the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.
These programs will start at 1 p.m. each day. They are expected to run 30-60 minutes in length and will appeal to ages eight and up.
Free tickets are available at the library for each event (seating is limited).
For more information, check the library’s website at www.fort-frances.com/library or call 274-9879.
The library also will be showing a family movie double feature on Friday, March 16, with the first film at 2 p.m. and the second at 6:30 p.m.
To find out what’s playing, go to library.fort-frances.com or call 274-9879.
Over at the Memorial Sports Centre, the pool will hold toonie swims all week long, as well as its regular adult, family, and public swims.
Toonie swims are scheduled for Sunday (2-4:30 p.m.), Monday (1:30-3:30 p.m.), Tuesday (1-3, 6-8 p.m.), Wednesday (1-3 p.m.), Thursday (1-3, 6-8 p.m.), Friday (1-3 p.m.), and Saturday (2:30-4 p.m.)
Finally, the Fort Frances “Best Start” Hub, located in the Children’s Complex (1150 Portage Ave.), will host its regular programming on several days next week, with parents/caregivers and their children welcome to drop in.
“Crafty Kids” (arts and crafts) will take place at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 13 while “Laugh & Learn” (crafts, songs, stories, and free play) is slated for Wednesday, March 14.
A scavenger hunt will be held Thursday, March 15 starting at 6 p.m.
“Family Game Day,” playing Nintendo Wii, will take place starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 17.
You have to register for the scavenger hunt and Family Game Day by calling 274-8588 (events will be cancelled if there are no registrations by 4 p.m. on Thursday for Thursday night events and 5 p.m. on Friday for Saturday events).
Also at the Children’s Complex, children attending day care there will be treated to a week of special March Break activities.
