The University hosted its annual Sibs N’ Kids event this past weekend and welcomed just fewer than 1,000 visitors to campus.

Emily Buroker, assistant director for the Sibs N’ Kids weekend, said this year’s turnout is the second largest on record behind 2012’s weekend, which brought around 1,200 to 1,300 visitors to campus.

The weekend consisted of a variety of events throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday including movie showings, sporting competitions and other kid-friendly activities. The vast majority of events were free of charge.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for students and their younger siblings to have fun together and make memories,” Buroker said. “It also is a great way for siblings to see BGSU’s campus and to see where their older sibling lives.”

The “kick-off” event on Friday evening was called, “Into The Wild: Sibs N’ Kids Kick-Off” and was presented by the University Activities Organization. This three-hour event brought students and visitors together and included music, refreshments and live animals among other activities.

Sophomore Kelly Ressler invited her two cousins to visit for Sibs N’ Kids Weekend as they did last year. Ressler said they were looking forward to the opening night kick-off. Their favorite activities last year were laser tag and flip book making.

Saturday began with an event titled, “Kids’ Tech University.” This activity required a $20 pre-registration fee that included a meal card and t-shirt. The session had an afternoon session that focused on behavioral studies of people and animals while the morning session featured a talk by Paul Moore, a professor in the University’s department of biological sciences.

While many of the events were focused on entertaining children, there was also a session hosted by the executive committee of the Falcon Parent and Family Association. Parents and family members of University students are automatically part of the association and this meeting gave visitors the chance to learn more about it and ways to help students succeed.

The theme of the weekend was “safari” and a number of events were based around this premise. This included a “Safari Carnival,” presented by the Resident Student Association, as well as a “Safari Adventure,” hosted by the Early Childhood Organization.

UAO presented a magician in the Union Ballroom on Saturday night and Buroker said this was one of the most popular events, attracting more than 250 people.

Three family members visited junior Victoria Gray and they said while they were looking forward to swimming and seeing a musical. Their favorite thing had been the inflatable bouncy house.

Students and their visitors were also given the opportunity to do things like ice skate, tie-dye shirts, make fleece tie blankets, feed and pet animals from around the world and perform in their own music video. There was also a “Late Night Extravaganza,” where those in attendance were able to get their palms read, experience an oxygen bar and play a variety of games.

Buroker said overall, the events of the weekend carried on without incident and that the activities were “very well organized.”

“I think the most important thing we want is for families to have fun and get to spend time with each other,” Buroker said.