Laker Life

Sibs & Kids Weekend brings childhood fun to campus

By Tracy Gershon GVL Staff Writer
1/24/2010

The population of Grand Valley State University increased this weekend with the addition of hundreds of sibs and kids partaking in a long-standing campus tradition.

Sibs & Kids Weekend is an annual event sponsored by Spotlight Productions, with funding assistance from Student Senate and various co-sponsors.

The two-day event, with "Free Time with Your Sibling" on Sunday, offers a vareity of entertainment options for GVSU students and their visitors to enjoy.

"It invites students to share their experience on campus with their younger siblings," said Friederike Habbel, a student organizer for Sibs & Kids. "There are also a lot of different student groups which are volunteering or co-sponsoring events, which helps encourage interaction between the different student organizations on campus."

Events included movies in the Big Screen Movie Theater, a photo booth, airbrush tattoos, a moon bounce and mini glow golf in Kirkhof Center on Friday night.

On Saturday, guests enjoyed attractions at the Fieldhouse Arena such as bumper cars, a mechanical bull, a bungee run, a climbing wall and a magic show by David Hall.

Saturday morning, kids stood in line outside the doors of the Fieldhouse Arena with their older siblings or family members. When the doors opened, children flooded the arena and raced to the front of the lines for Build-a-Bear and caricatures.

The Build-a-Bear workshop was the most popular event of the day with children lined up to make stuffed hippos, dinosaurs, moose and bears. The workshop featured miniature Laker apparel to dress the stuffed creatures.

Habbel said the weekend was a success because nothing broke down and the lines did not seem too long.

Sophomore Kelsey Rauhut and two of her cousins, Gleb and Nikita, took part in the festivities.

"This is a good opportunity to see family and have them visit," Rauhut said. "They aren't bored because there are a lot of activities to keep them entertained."

Rauhut's cousins said their favorite activity Friday night was the moon bounce because they could jump and do flips. They were also excited for Saturday's events, especially bumper cars and the bungee run.

"For my cousins, they have no concept of what a college is, so it's fun for them to see what it's like," Rauhut said.

Spotlight Productions and representatives from Greek Life staffed the weekend's events.

Volunteer Kelsey O'Dell said she had a positive experience volunteering at Sibs & Kids Weekend because it was fun to act like a kid again - eating snow cones and enjoying the games.

tgershon@lanthorn.com

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