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Slime-making day at the museum was a blast

Not only did the Souris Valley Museum had full attendance for their No School Day workshop last Friday, but they also did have a waiting list. The secret to such popularity was the traditionally great programming, but also the topic for the day.

Not only did the Souris Valley Museum had full attendance for their No School Day workshop last Friday, but they also did have a waiting list. The secret to such popularity was the traditionally great programming, but also the topic for the day.

“It was called Ooey Goey … It was just a fun program for kids to come to the museum. We made different types of slime,” said Mark Veneziano, the museum’s executive director.

Kids also participated in a game show that was called What’s in the Box, in which they put their hands into the box and had to guess what’s inside based on their feel. Some of the things that were there were oatmeal, beans, rice, oranges and peas.

“The kids had a whole lot of time enjoying that. They were laughing. And some of them were scared of what was in the box. It was a very well attended program,” said Veneziano.

Eighteen young explorers participated in the program throughout the day either being there for the duration or attending for half of the day. Veneziano noted that they also had about five people on the waiting list, and few others phoned on Thursday and Friday, checking for program availability.

Originally, two similar events were planned and both were fully booked, but due to the situation with COVID-19, following the Saskatchewan Health Authority's recommendations, the museum had to cancel all their programming for March, starting this Monday.

Veneziano also pointed out that the museum's No School Day workshops started picking up quite well this year, with a lot of people regularly bringing their kids for different programs, and many new children joining the group.

“Our No School Day workshops have been becoming more and more popular as people get to know about our programs here at the museum,” said Veneziano. “People are starting to know who we are and we start to get a following.”

Up to this point in the 2019-20 year the museum didn’t cancel a single No School Day program due to low attendance, while the year before they ended up scratching out three or four events of this kind.

“We have definitely seen an increase in parents taking advantage of our programs during the no-school days. And we are happy to see that,” said Veneziano.

There are some limitations as to the number of children that they can accommodate at each event, so the groups fill up quickly.

Currently the programs are cancelled for March to help promote social distancing, the registration for other programs later in the year is open. In April the museum plans to have an I Am Mother Goose program and two camps, The Fairy Tail Adventures (Apr. 14-16 for ages three to five) and Recycling Camp (Apr. 14-17 for ages six to 10).

Registration for summer camps will open on March 31.

The Souris Valley Museum is currently closed as well until further notice.