Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Kids and nature: a natural

The Fire and Ice Festival, an event hosted by the Wyoming Division of State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails, will provide local children with an opportunity to experience a variety of winter, outdoor activities at the Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne, January 23-24.
Held as part of the national Children in Nature program and the Wyoming Kids Xtreme campaign, Fire and Ice is committed to reconnecting children and families with nature and the outdoors.

The event will kickoff at 10 a.m., January 23, when a group of students from Pioneer Park School will address the Wyoming State Legislature, personally inviting the governing body to a reception scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. The students will then trek from the Capitol to the Barrett Building where they will watch professional ice sculptors work their magic on blocks of ice. The students will also try their hand at snow sculpting before heading to Starbucks for hot chocolate.

Fire and Ice continues from 9 a.m. until noon, January 24 with a variety of activities and demonstrations such as igloo building, a snowshoe demonstration, dummy rescue, toboggan run, cross country skiing demonstration, a stamp mill, military cannon, a snowmobile simulator and snow games. These activities are free and open to the public. Weather forecaster Don Day will also be on hand to show how satellite images are read and conduct weather equipment demonstrations.

Fire and Ice is made possible through the generous donations or participation of Dazzling Ice Sculptures, Starbucks Coffee, the Wyoming Arts Council, Office of Homeland Security and Search and Rescue, Don Day – Day Weather, Mechanical Systems, Inc., Rock on Wheels, WP Rentals, Senator Bruce Burns, GSD Facilities Management – Grounds, USA Fireworks, Sierra Trading Post and the Steamboat Springs Ski and Resort Corporation. For more information about the Fire and Ice Festival, please call the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources at 777-6323.