KICS for Kids

by Shona Bruce,
KICS Director

Our Kid’s Day at Kingfisher Interpretive Centre was another success for us. 

Some kids thought the bugs were the best part of the day

Some kids thought the bugs were the best part of the day


We had about 30 people show up for this event, which was the perfect amount.  Any more than that and you would end up doing crowd control.  We were able to give and receive personal attention to both the kids and parents alike.

The day started with a hatchery tour and some salmon-life cycle information and demonstrations.  We then had a ‘bug-hunt’ where we searched through some bowls of bug-soup to find and identify aquatic invertebrates.  We then watched the bugs on our ‘Shuswap Bug-O-Vision Television’.  It is a local reality show where the kids get to choose the contestants!!  In most cases there were beetles, mayflies, caddisflies etc.

After the bugs, the kids were given an anatomy lesson during a demonstration fish dissection.  A spawning female Coho salmon was used (the fish was donated from Fisheries and Oceans last fall) and was a huge hit.


Dissecting a salmon at Kid's day

Dissecting a salmon at Kid’s day

After a short break for lunch the kids made a bookmark using leaf prints, bug stamps and forest stamps.  Some kids made 5 or 6 bookmarks each!!

It was now time to go on a nature walk.  The kids walked through the forest, listening with their deer ears while walking stealthily like a cougar.  They learned about different plants, their Traditional uses and some of the edible plants in the forest.  They learned how the returning salmon provide nutrients to all the plants and that there are 137 species that rely on the fish for their survival.  At the end of the walk they were given the chance to run and howl like coyotes.

Each child was just thrilled when given a Think Salmon! t-shirt at the end of the day.  They were also given pins, key chains and stickers.  The event was free.  We are very happy to be able to offer our award-winning environmental education at no-cost!!

Quotes:  “What type of bug is that?  I think it is a mmmmmmmmm..........”
“It’s an Aprilfly, daddy”
(This said by a four year old little girl who knew perfectly well that she was looking at a mayfly.)

I asked another little girl what her favourite part was and she told me that it was seeing the salmon’s heart.  Another child said that the bugs were the favourite.


Start:

08/18/07 10:00 am

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Kingfisher Interpretive Centre

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