Stories from the road: Summer Solstice Aboriginal Festival

Hello again! Jenn, Lea and Kim here! We had an awesome time at the Ottawa Summer Solstice Festival this past weekend.

On Thursday and Friday we saw over 500 children during the Education Days. While some children learned about structure building through play, others learned about Aboriginal ancestral engineering with take home cootie catchers. We had lots of great conversations with teachers who hope to use our resources in their classrooms, and plenty of happy parents took home the “What Engineers Do” activity book for their children. We even had a few homeschooling parents who were excited to use our tools and literature! The weather treated us very kindly on those days, and almost every child took away a construction hat to keep their heads cool in the sun.

We thoroughly enjoyed Grand Entry on Friday evening, and fun festival food on Saturday for lunch. The beauty of the ceremony and the wonderful sense of community filled our senses. We had a happy Saturday, where some children stayed with us for hours playing and learning. Then we decided to enjoy a little Ottawa culture and head out to Rib Fest, where we tried some prize winning ribs!

Sunday began with a little rain, but it soon cleared up so we could enjoy a full day of festivities. We were joined by some non-traditional attractions, like a reptile zoo which boasted a huge python, and the ‘Colour Run’, a fun race where participants are sprayed with colour. We had lots of visitors of all ages who loved the interactive activities and took away lots of books. We enjoyed some fried bread, and soon it was time to travel back to Kingston. 

The weekend was a huge success and we thank all who joined us!