The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is hosting Fish Week programming events through Saturday.

Education Specialist Michelle Ostrowski said the goal of Fish Week is to teach kids about the salmon runs that happen in the central peninsula every summer.

People of all ages are welcome to come to the visitor center and participate in the “family fishy fun” with education interns through Thursday, as well as learn how to cast a line in the “casting yard” Friday and Saturday.

The “family fishy fun” includes crafts and a mini-lesson on fish migration patterns and bodily life cycle changes. On Tuesday, kids participated by making their own fish stamps and hanging fish mobiles.

The program is free and available from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on a drop-in basis.

On Friday and Saturday, kids are welcome to learn how to tie a knot and cast a line in an effort to reel in fish targets. This program will take place at the visitor center between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Additionally on the refuge Facebook page, interns from the Kenaitze Indian Tribe will be uploading everything from cooking demonstrations to youth activities throughout the week.

Ostrowski said they are altering Fish Week a little bit to allow for outdoor social distancing and hybrid online programming in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Unvaccinated individuals are asked to continue wearing a facial covering while inside the refuge visitor center.

Reach reporter Camille Botello at camille.botello@peninsulaclarion.com.

Fredrick Bryant decorates a fish mobile at the Kenai Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center on July 6, 2021 for Fish Week. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

Carol and Fynn Bryant participatesin the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s Fish Week at the visitor center on July 6, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)