It's good to be a kid!

Never mind that the 2009 BP World Ice Art Championship's Multi-Block Classic is within 12 hours of completion, there is sledding to be done!

Fourth through sixth graders from Arctic Light Elementary visited the Park this morning and although they appreciated the completed Single-Block and the in-progress Multi-Block, all I heard was, "Mrs. G! Where are the big slides?!?" Before the slides, however... there was a bit of learning to be done. The students asked questions about why the ice was so blue, how long it took for the sculptors to create their masterpieces, and what the heavy machinery was used for in the multi-block. The wind and blowing snow did not keep the kids from running down the long paths, stopping to exclaim, "Wow! That's amazing!" and "I want to be able to do that!". Once they hit the kids' park, it was a clown car situation - how many sixth graders can we fit into the tunnel?

Eventually (towards the end of the visit... the slides are a great culmination for a school-age group. Or actually any group, as I've gone sledding every day), we made it to the big slides down at the pond. Picture 100 pairs of eyes growing wide and then 100 pairs of legs moving themselves as fast as they could to take a ride down the smooth ice. The video is of one of the teachers, Mr. Wolfe, letting gravity pull him (quite quickly) to the bottom. Here at the Park, we are looking forward to spring break (9-13 March) and seeing all of the kids (and kids at heart) enjoy what the 2009 BP World Ice Art Championships have to offer!