Alma College’s Scots and Sibs Weekend

CHARLOTTE ROCKWELL
PHOTOGRAPHER

BRYCE BIRCHMEIER
STAFF WRITER

2/17/2025

Alma College held its annual siblings weekend, dubbed “Scots and Sibs,” from Feb. 14-16. Family members from the ages of seven to 18 came to Alma for this family-friendly weekend. 

The cost of registration for this event was $25 for one child and $30 for two. Registration closed at 4 p.m. on Feb. 14. There were many activities for the Alma students and their family members to participate in. 

“I just hope they [had] fun hanging out with their siblings on campus! We [didn’t] really have anything super educational going on throughout the weekend, so we just [focused] on the fun stuff going on,” said Brendan Murdie (‘22), Assistant Director for Student Engagement – Student Activities

On Friday there was a check in the Tyler Van Dusen Rotunda, a pizza and an ice cream social in the Center for Student Opportunity (CSO) and then late-night activities including games, crafts, coloring and more.

On Saturday, there were events at the Stone Recreation Center that included rock climbing, a planetarium show in the Dow Science Center, a Mario Kart tournament at Blockhouse, trivia night at the Tyler Van Dusen Commons and more late-night activities in the CSO. 

“I think the events I would most recommend would be the Planetarium Show presented by Dr. Steuard Jensen, the Women’s Basketball game vs St. Mary’s College and the Mario Kart Tournament at Blockhouse,” said Murdie.

“The Scots and Sibs planetarium shows are always relatively short (30 minutes each), so I try to keep the topic pretty narrow and focus on inspiring wonder (and also inspiring questions),” said Steuard Jensen, Professor of Physics.

“This year, my theme [was] “Our Place in the Universe”: [we started] by gazing up at the stars and talking about that experience, and then [I showed] a brief presentation about where our cosmic neighborhood actually is in the grand scale of things,” said Jensen.

“The astronomy planetarium show thing was pretty cool. I think that was one of the most entertaining things we saw… They loved the rock climbing too; that was nice,” said Elsa Dupon (‘25).

“The rock wall is prepared to accommodate younger siblings, we have some easier routes, climbing shoes that are kid-sized and our harnesses fit everyone. Actually, there’s plenty of families in Alma that stop by with their younger kids regularly, and the kids love it,” said Karol Pucek (‘26).

“I’d definitely recommend swinging by the rock wall, a lot of people just stop by for 10-15 minutes and climb once or twice. It’s a really quick setup and it’s super fun so there’s really no reason not to try it,” said Pucek.

On Sunday, there was a pancake breakfast in the Tyler Van Dusen Rotunda, a community service project in the Tyler Van Dusen Rotunda and lastly, a checkout to end the event-filled weekend. 

“We [partnered] with a few different groups on and off campus to put together a schedule of events that is fun for all ages,” said Murdie.

“It’s simply fun! It gives current students an excuse to bring their siblings up to campus to hang out which they probably don’t get to do often, especially on campus,” said Murdie.

To register for this event next year, keep an eye out on Alma College’s social media pages and emails to get the registration link and the date if you have any family members within the specified age range who have an interest in coming down to Alma for this fun-filled weekend.