THUNDER BAY — Construction World, a drop-in construction program for children, was hosted at the Waverley Resource Library on Monday.
The program featured equipment donated and managed by ITEC, a local company that supplies heavy equipment products and services within and outside the region.
“They’re here allowing the children to climb on the machines and to learn about them and then inside there’s some other construction-related activities,” said Skyla Raison, a children’s programming technician with the Thunder Bay Public Library.
These activities included an architectural station where children designed and built their own 3D houses and apartments, a colouring station featuring an ITEC-donated colouring book with local mining construction equipment, a large painting station for a cardboard house and a structural engineering drive station with magnet tiles, Legos and various STEM building kits.
It also offered a few vehicles that children could drive around, several construction playsets, a large sand-filled pool where children dug up gemstones using various equipment and children’s digging toys and a demolition zone with a PVC wrecking ball that children used to build and demolish towers.
Edward Malley was one of dozens of children excited to be on the Develon mini excavator supplied by ITEC on Monday. He also liked the Avant mini articulated loader brought by the company.
“It has a claw to smash through cement and rocks and sand like the man said that owns it,” said Malley.
For the program, Malley said he also sometimes liked painting and built a “big, giant building” that was in a different country.
The building, comparable to the Empire State Building or a rocket in structure as noted by his grandmother, who joined him for the program, was made using magnetic tiles.
Kayla Verkaik also brought her daughter, Gracie, and her son, LJ, to ride the excavator on Monday.
“Both of them actually love construction vehicles… (And) it said construction world, so we were all for that,” said Verkaik.
LJ, in particular, said he was excited to be there and liked the excavator.
Gracie agreed that it was also fun painting the house inside the library.
It is important to offer these activities to the kids who came out, Raison said, as it allows them something different to do in Thunder Bay.
“Lots of the children don’t have an opportunity to explore equipment like this and it’s something to do over the summer,” said Raison.
Going forward, the branch will host a discovery club on Tuesday, featuring various STEM kits related to robotics, building and cubes in the auditorium.
“Children are encouraged to come and play and discover new things,” said Raison.
A fire truck will also appear on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the County Park Branch Library.
“That’s something different and kind of fun,” said Raison.
