MARQUETTE -- From snakes to exhibits, even sound effects, kids at the Upper Peninsula Children's Museum have so much to explore.  That's in part due to proceeds from the Seafood Fest, put on by the Marquette West Rotary.

"Recently we bought a whole bunch of sound chips with their funding which allows us to do the fun sounds that kids are always pushing buttons for,”  said Nheena Weyer Ittner, Director and Founder of the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum.  “Especially on the intestinal slide."

And it's a similar story for the Willow Farm Therapeutic Riding program in Harvey.  Proceeds from the Seafood Fest have helped Executive Director, Linda Mallon, purchase equipment for special needs riders, like adjustable helmets and color-coated reins.

Linda says the program and the equipment gives the riders a sense of independence they don't normally feel in day-to-day scenarios, and the Seafood Fest, a major funding source for the Marquette West Rotary Club Foundation, is partly to thank.

"In helping provide, whether it's scholarship money that we need for our riders or whether it's specialized equipment that may be wearing our or that we need more of because of those needs that our riders have, they've been there for us,” said Mallon.  “And they've been consistent, and we are just extremely grateful to them."