If it’s true that girls only want boyfriends who have great skills (to quote Napoleon Dynamite), then those who want to be popular should head to Sandy Point Discovery Center on Saturday, Aug. 12.

Native American Skills Day will run from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. with demonstrations, workshops, displays, storytelling and a special Native American kayak trip that focuses on the history of local tribes and their culture. On tap are flint knapping, dug out canoe building and basket making skills, among others.

It’d be cool even if you’re not looking for a girlfriend.

Bob Doyle from the Maine Primitive Skills School will offer flint knapping demonstrations in the morning and then invite people to try their hand at friction fire lighting in the afternoon. Chick Wetherbee will conduct a mini-workshop on bow drilling, Exeter resident Justin Kane will work on a dug out canoe, and Susan Slabon a local basket maker will demonstrate the art of basket making. The staff and volunteers at Sandy Point will be teaching a birch bark craft and toy, and there will be a Native American plant walk. Kids will be able to make a pinch pot out of clay dug from Sandy Point and visit the Sandy Point wigwam which will be set up with pelts and artifacts.  A special kayak trip focusing on the local Native American and their fishing and hunting techniques takes place in late afternoon.

The day pays tribute to the area’s earliest inhabitants. Long before the European colonists arrived in the area, Great Bay was home to many Native American tribes, including numerous members of the Squamscot (or Msquamskek) and Newichwannock tribes. The Squamscott, Lamprey, Oyster and Bellamy tributaries and Great Bay itself provided abundant food in the form of fish, shellfish and waterfowl, as well as berries, nuts and roots. Crops were grown on the sandy loams and river plains that could be easily worked with stone, shell and wooden tools.There will also be a display of Native American artifacts found on the shores of the Bay and rivers, assembled by Dr. Donald Foster of Philips Exeter Academy, and Water Street Bookstore in Exeter will have a special Native American book display and sale for both children and adults with a percentage of all sales going to the Sandy Point Discovery Center to fund its school programs.

For teachers who attend and take part in one of the classes there will be a CEU certificate as well as information on some of the skills presented and book lists. Events are fee except for the mini-workshops. For more information and a full schedule, call Sandy Point at 603-778-0015.