For years, Ohio University has taken pride in providing fun opportunities for families to spend time with their students; with Moms Weekend approaching, it is no surprise that exciting activities are in store.
“Moms Weekend seems to be a little bit busier than other family weekends,” said Judd Walker, the assistant director of OU Outdoor Pursuits. “For whatever reason, whenever the moms come to town, they sign up for more events.”
The same outdoor pursuit programs are typically offered for all family weekends: stargazing and zip lining at The Ridges, and hiking at Conkles Hollow. However, there is a twist to Moms Weekend this year because a tree fell on a zip line support cable during a recent storm, causing reconstruction that will take time.
Instead of the zip line, Outdoor Pursuits is offering rappelling, where people can climb up a tower and rappel down the side. People were already signed up to go zip lining, but Walker said they have been informed of the change, and about two-thirds of the people dropped the activity and were refunded.
“We are always excited to let families do things that aren’t in their typical, day-to-day schedule, whether that’s rappelling or going on a hike to a place that’s not far from campus,” Walker said. “We are excited to provide some of those pieces and parts that make Ohio University unique that aren’t like your typical walk up and down Court Street.”
Alden Library will host a book-making activity for moms and students to do as a bonding experience.
Michele Jennings, the art librarian at Alden, said a few different bookbinding styles will be offered at varying difficulty levels. All crafting supplies required to make the books will be provided.
“What gets put into the book is, of course, up to whatever mom and child makes the book,” Jennings said. “It’s kind of just a DIY experience.”
So many families signed up for the book-making activity that registration occupancy doubled from 25 to 50 participants.
Alden will also host an herbalist from Herbal Sage Tea Co., who will allow moms and students to choose a custom tea to enjoy.
“She’ll talk participants through ingredients. … Say you want bedtime tea, so you put chamomile in it,” Jennings said. “So that you walk away with your perfect tea blend.”
The herbalist will talk to participants about the different properties of herbal teas. Attendees can participate in both the book-making and tea tasting events at the same time if they choose.
“We planned the event to be relaxing and low key, so you can be doing something while actually having time for conversation and quality time,” Jennings said. “A lot of the other events are super fun but this, we hope, will be a chance to catch a breath.”
The goal of the activity is to allow mothers and their students to bond in a quiet place while doing something creative.
“When we do events like this, our hope is for people to experience the library in a way that they maybe have not necessarily before,” said Jen Harvey, the library events coordinator. “We want people to be able to experience the library as kind of a fun place to do something relaxing.”
The Black Student Cultural Programming Board will host a Moms Expo in the second floor atrium of Baker Center on Saturday.
“We will be inside the whole Multicultural Center and span out to the atrium,” said Janetta Edwards, the PR organizer for BSCPB and a sophomore studying biology.
Activities will include massages, arts and crafts, henna, mom trivia and more.
During mom trivia, the moms and their students are asked questions about each other, and if they win, they get a gift basket.
T-shirts will be available for free on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Mothers love doing this for us. BSCPB is one of our biggest organizations, so we usually have a lot of people here,” Edwards said. “Moms are very particular about their massages, so make sure you do apply for a massage.”
