Kid-Built Boats on Display Saturday, August 23, at the Boat Ramp in Darden Towe Park
August 20, 2014 | Posted in Uncategorized | By ericdmjohnson@gmail.com
Saturday, August 23, between 10 AM and 2 PM, the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center will display wooden boats built by teens at the Boat Ramp in Darden Towe Park. For over ten years, the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center has been making wooden boats with teens and younger children, teaching planning, teamwork, carpentry skills, and the joys of completing a major project. The smaller boats, called pirogues, will be available Saturday for view and for short paddles on a quiet part of the Rivanna River by the Boat Ramp.
Near the Boat Ramp there will be a display of photographs of the boat building program over the years. The program is a partnership between the City of Charlottesville Department of Parks and Recreations and the Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center. Camp counselors from the Parks and Rec summer camps help Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center volunteers with the boat building and planning.
There will also be an opportunity to help paint the newest pirogue, built this summer. The newest boat will be blue and will join a fleet of red, white, green, and yellow.
For more information, see lewisandclarkexploratorycenter.blogspot.com or the Lewis and Clark page on Facebook. In case of rain, the event will be postponed. You can also call Executive Director Alexandria Searls at 434-996-7282
To reach the Boat Ramp, enter Darden Towe Park and take a left. Pass the retention pond to your right. On the left will be the Boat Ramp’s parking lot after the curve in the road.