Small hands were busy at work in Sertoma Park on Saturday. About 50 children had the opportunity to build their own wooden race car, courtesy of Lowe's Home Improvement.

This Lowe's children's workshop was one of several activities that MOPS fundraising coordinator Tamara Steckler planned as part of the Evangel Assembly of God's MOPS group's second annual Great Moms Walk on Saturday morning.

The Great Moms Walk, which became a national MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) fundraising event in 2004, started in Bismarck just last year, Steckler said.

"Most people came as families," Steckler said. "There's a lot to do."

The group started their 45-minute walk around Sertoma at 10 a.m. Saturday and stopped a couple of times along the way, once for a snack and again to play a bean bag game, she said.

Steckler said the walk was a great event for children like 8-year-old Megan Griffin, who rode her pink bike alongside MOPS walkers.

After the walk, the 35 adults who attended the event got a chance to eat and socialize.

Meanwhile, their children explored a Bismarck Fire Department fire truck, met St. Alexius Medical Center's Alex the Cat or watched a puppet show put on by Kelly Loftis from the Mandan Public Library.

Most of the proceeds from this year's Great Moms Walk will be used to offset the cost of child care during the MOPS meetings, Steckler said.

MOPS member Janell Meyer, who has two boys under the age of 5, said the nonprofit group meets every two weeks to discuss topics that concern mothers with preschool-aged children.

"(Moms) can be in it from the time (their) child is an infant until they are in kindergarten," Meyer said. "It's a great group."

(Reach reporter Alyssa Schafer at 250-8264 or alyssa.schafer@;bismarcktribune.com.)