Children painted rocks and landscapes in watercolors, and made pottery and treasure bags at the Kumeai-Ibai Interpretive Center in Poway on March 16.
The morning activities were part of a city-sponsored Native American-inspired arts program designed to give children an opportunity to experience Native American art and culture.
As 6-year-old Phineas Spiker made a bag to hold his treasures, his mother Monica Spiker of Carlsbad talked about how she looked for activities that would give her children a hands-on learning experience.
“I'm a teacher, so I'm always looking for fun things to do with the kids on the weekends other than sports,” said Monica Spiker, a first-grade teacher at a private school in Carlsbad.
After 6-year-old Colin Crowley prepared his treasure bag, he placed a toy squirrel inside it. His sister Baylee, 9, had a reindeer in her house, and Colin's twin sister, Dakota, 6, had a piglet hidden in her purse.
A thriving community of Native Americans inhabited Poway long before the Spanish arrived, the city's website Poway.org reported. Evidence of their lives and work can be seen at the center, established by a partnership between the city, the Friends of the Kumeyaay and the San Pasqual Band of Indians.
Free docent-led hikes are available at the center from 10am to 1pm on the third Saturday of every month. The Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center is located at 13104 Ipai Waaypuk Trail, south of Poway Road.
For more information, call 858-668-4781.
