Sault Bushplane centre holds Family Day event

A holiday Monday for many Canadians brought an opportunity for some family fun.

In the Sault, the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre held an event with a special twist for local teachers this year.

Hundreds visited the centre, with plenty of activities to keep the young ones busy with the day off from school.

“Cookie decorating and a science show,” said Jessica Newton, when asked what she did at the centre Monday.

“I love that we have a space here that’s warm where the kids can run around,” added Maggie Lee.

“They can be kids. They can learn a bunch of stuff — even if it doesn’t feel to them like they’re learning.”

For the second time, the holiday event also featured the Soo Roller Derby League, a group looking to strengthen its roots in the Sault.

“It’s a great time,” said group member Stephanie Sleeman.

“We get to meet a tonne of people and get to skate with our community members that, you know, hopefully, will want to come out and skate with us, too.”

This year, the museum let local educators in for free, along with the chance to talk with the Bushplane’s education director.

“We want to get, you know, as many schools as we can, as many grades in here,” said the centre’s events supervisor, Madi Lee.

“We do have those class sizes, but we’re always happy to integrate more and do more trips and have more schools come to see us.”

The annual Family Day event at the Bushplane centre may offer parents an option for entertainment, but it also greatly benefits the centre.

Officials said they see more visitors on weekends following these large gatherings, and many past program participants learned about their activities while they were here.

By Cory Nordstrom, CTV News