Winter Fun Day- Oh! What a Fun Day it Was!
Photo courtesy of Barbara Cellarius
Jolene Nashlund - WISE
On December 29th, the Wrangell Institute for Science and the Environment (WISE) partnered with Wrangell St. Elias National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Glennallen Field Office, Copper River Native Association (CRNA), Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) Glennallen Office, and Prince William Sound College (PWSC) for Winter Fun Day.
The Wrangell St. Elias National Park Visitor Center was brimming with over a hundred happy faces belonging to families and volunteers, all on a mission to enjoy a day filled with exciting activities. Touring through Winter Fun Day, there were plenty of indoor and outdoor activities to choose from.
At the approach to the Visitor’s Center, WISE board member Jenny Moser sat with her snowmachine, waiting for an eager crowd to circle around and learn about maintenance and the types of emergency gear a snowmachinist should always carry.
Mounds of snow with sticks poking out of them were huddled near the entrance looking like lost porcupines. These mounds later became quinzees, which are emergency snow shelters, or in this case- forts in which the kids naturally separated into the girls’ side and the boys’ side!
If diving into the snow to dig out a shelter wasn’t on the top of your list quite yet, there were snowshoes stationed outside the entrance to the Visitor’s Center beckoning feet to strap into for a trek into the woods to experience life on top of the snow with the expert guidance of Russ Scribner of NPS and Cory Larson and Sean Williams from BLM.
Entering the Visitor’s Center, to the right, there was a corner area that looked reminiscent of a ski shop at a happening resort. Skis, poles, and boots were lined along the wall. Nestled in the middle were rows of chairs with Diane Ellsworth and Mike Townsend of NPS and WISE volunteer Joe Morse standing by, ready to fit youth and adults with appropriately sized ski equipment. Once outside, skiers enjoyed a guided tour atop groomed trails through the wintery wonderland bordering the bluff. Our ski guides, WISE volunteers Barbara Cellarius and Jenny Moser, accompanied by Jan Maslen of NPS, were kept busy with this popular activity!
Indoors, youth and parents gathered around tables filled with hands-on fun and learning. Nestled in the corner near the crackling fireplace, Dayton Rosenburg from ADF&G taught families about the special features and adaptations of our area mammals utilizing furs and skulls. Kids marveled at the teeth and how soft the fur was. For an opportunity to explore the fur closer, Katie Bobowski from PWSC brought microscopes and hair samples from some of Alaska’s furry friends. Gazing through the eyepiece, youth could learn about the different shapes and identifying patterns of hair shafts while using their sleuthing abilities to assign each hair sample to its corresponding mammal.
Sheila Hurst of CRNA brought eye-catching colorful calculators to help teach our youth about the costs of tobacco use to not only their pocketbook, but their lung health as well.
WISE volunteers Linda Rutledge and Linda Flint joined WISE board member Janelle Eklund at the arts and crafts table, where youth employed their artistic talents making a snowman suncatcher, painting an intricate wooden snowflake, and making “snowman soup” -a hot cocoa delight- which they could take home and enjoy. The event ended with a tasty feast of warm soup with fluffy breadsticks provided by WISE.
A very special thanks to Dre Cantwell-Frank, Rayce Russell, and Kristy Johns of CRNA EMS for standing by with the ambulance, and being ready to assist by either providing medical aid, hand warmers, or water. WISE and our partners felt safer and more prepared by having you there. WISE would like to also thank our positively amazing partners, valuable volunteers, and the fabulous families that helped make Winter Fun Day, well, a really fun day! Enjoy the rest of your winter and remember to get outdoors and have fun!
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