BuildFest 2022 brings games, fun and learning to Watauga children | Local News
WATAUGA — If you build it they will come, and the Children’s Playhouse accomplished just that with a jam-packed celebration of childhood fun and learning at BuildFest 2022.
Free to all families, BuildFest welcomed children ages 2-12 to the Watauga High School campus for a Saturday filled with wall-to-wall, hands-on science, technology, engineering, art and math activities. Sponsors from community organizations and members such as the Children’s Council of Watauga County, local elementary schools and Appalachian State students gathered to create seemingly unlimited numbers of activities for children to join throughout the day.
In the gymnasium, robots circled around a mat in one corner while an ever-growing labyrinth of cardboard boxes consumed the other end. In the cafeteria, children engaged in painting activities, built a brain-cap to wear or played in other sensory-engaging activities.
Many parents reported their children had yet to attend a BuildFest due to the pandemic, and the sheer volume of activities meant there was no shortage of learning and play throughout the day.
Children of all ages took advantage of the variety of activities, sunny weather and opportunity to play together at BuildFest.
Children use their imaginations to build a kingdom out of cardboard boxes in the gymnasium of Watauga High School.
Representing Two Rivers Community School, April Flanders, professor of studio art at App State, and App State art senior Will Christ help April Flanders use green paint to print a picture.
Outside Watauga High School, multiple stations are set up one after another for kids to take place in a variety of hands-on activities.
Allison, Lacey and Lachlan Saine enjoy the kids’ first BuildFest with some hands-on games.
Sunny and Ocean Morgan practice engineering structures out of pasta and marshmallows.
The Boone Fire Department paid a visit to BuildFest to answer questions from kids and show the community around the fire truck
From above, the cafeteria of Watauga High School is filled to the brim with kids, activities and adventures.
Danny Proctor and his child Ace Proctor fight against gravity building a skyscraper out of blocks.
In the middle of a sea of cardboard boxes, kids find the perfect building materials to create a cardboard maze throughout the gym.
Students from the AGElabs at App State’s Psychology Department volunteered their time to share a bit about their brain development research and knowledge via festive brain caps for attendees to wear. Pictured are Tianna Martinez, Peyton Teer and Adam Peterlin.
Finn Hoffman races a car down a track with the help of volunteer Milene Trejo.
Finley Garner gets hands-deep in some “floam” at BuildFest 2022.
Parents and kids mill around to check out the fire truck courtesy of Boone Fire Department.
Throughout the day, the maze of cardboard boxes grew as kids added on more extensions to the labyrinth.
Finn Krause and Sophie Zimmer husk corn outside of BuildFest.
Using a cranking device, Sophie Zimmer takes the kernels off a dried cob of corn.
