Family Fun and Learning: Lake Yankton Outdoor Festival and Homestead Days
Families at the Lake Yankton training dike and Pierson Ranch were treated on June 11 to many fun, hand-on learning experiences. At the Lake Yankton Outdoor Festival, children played mini golf, disc golf, and hover ball archery. A fishing clinic gave kids a chance to cast a line. Adults and kids went on the lake in kayaks or waterboards, viewed equipment used by search and rescue services, and learned about majestic birds of prey. Activities were led by the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Corps of Engineers, and local organizations including FOMNRR.
Volunteers help a mother and child get ready to kayak.
And over at the Pierson Ranch Recreation Area, part of South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks, families experienced how settlers dressed, cooked, played games, and made crafts. This area featured a guitar-playing folk singer, a cowboy in chaps who taught people to rope a cow, and stations where kids and adults could try butter-making, candle-dipping, and croquet. Everyone could taste delicious homemade bread, cherry-rhubarb cobbler, and other old-time foods! Thanks to SDGFP, the Meade Center, and the other presenters for a great day that gave kids, parents, and grandparents the opportunity to play together as they learned about the Missouri River and life on the frontier.
Learning to dip candles in wax.
