Desert Companion - Family 2016

2016

Special Bonus Issue

Full house!

Four generations under one roof

The bucks stop here Ten-year-olds saving ... for a house?!

Summer yummin' Cool recipes for little foodies

KIDS AT PLAY

Summer fun indoors!

Outdoors!

Everywhere in between!

Stellar academic programs, an emphasis on holistic education, and adaptability to student interests make Dawson a fantastic place to learn, explore, and grow. Dawson’s decision to be the first middle school in Las Vegas to offer Mandarin allowed me to establish a strong lingual foundation I continued to build through high school and college. Additionally, Dawson’s ability to accommodate my desire to attend a boarding high school made a daunting process much more approachable. I believe the academic preparation and opportunity I received at Dawson has been instrumental to my academic success.

Pascal Cevaer-Corey Dawson Class of 2010 Stanford University

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The Dawson Difference At The Alexander Dawson School, we can’t predict the future, but we can teach children how to shape it.

Dawson gave me the room to be creative. For example, I wrote my first play in the eighth grade. It was a western melodrama we performed for the entire School. People thought it was funny and I loved that reaction.

Dawson’s performing arts teacher told me to take that feeling and try applying it to screenwriting. That must have stuck with me because I chose to major in screenwriting and directing at Boston University. I believe a lot of my confidence came from the creative opportunities I was given early on at Dawson, and from the people there that helped me realize my strengths.

As a Dawson student I developed a solid foundation in writing, study skills, and problem solving. While it has been over 15 years since I first attended Dawson, I still rely on those basic foundational skills to guide me through the challenges of my Ph.D. program at Wake Forest University Medical School. I know my experience at Dawson prepared me for success in high school and beyond.

Now, I am in my third year of graduate school studying the molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Brenna Beckelman Dawson Class of 2004 Wake Forest University Medical School

Lida Nasseri Dawson Class of 2007 Boston University

(702) 949-3600

Whether it’s delivering a presentation or taking a test, there isn’t a single identifiable thing that has been more beneficial to me than my educational experience at Dawson. I was encouraged to be an independent thinker and I still use the tools I was given at Dawson to put forth 110 percent effort into whatever I am trying to accomplish. I was taught to question what was questionable, and to discover what was undiscovered. Dawson has not only made me the person I am today, but has made me the person I will be for the rest of my life.

Jonathan Walton Dawson Class of 2012 National Merit Scholarship Finalist 2016

www.alexanderdawsonschool.org

10845 W. Desert Inn Road | Las Vegas, Nevada | 89135 Month 2015

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EDiTOR’S Note

Higher ed

S

cience education through robots, financial literacy, volunteerism — scanning the topics and issues we cover in our third annual Desert Companion Family issue, I’m struck by, well, what a serious, grownup enterprise being a kid has become. (The closest I think I ever came to entering a robotics competition was playing smash-up derby on our bikes. Not sure what I learned about science beyond an intimacy with the structure and morphology of my bruised shins, though.) If such concerns represent the New Childhood, then this year’s Desert Companion Family Issue should serve as a more than capable user’s manual. In “Go team science!” (p. 54), Sarah Vernetti explores the latest trend in STEM education — and it doesn’t involve a tangled thicket of formulas scrawled on dry-erase boards. Rather, it’s about igniting kids’ imaginations for science and engineering through exciting robot battles and intense drone competitions. In “Common cents” (p. 45), Jason Scavone surveys courses and programs about financial literacy, a bedrock life skill that’s fallen by the wayside in the traditional classroom (to the peril of several generations mired in consumer and student debt). Today, proponents of financial literacy are teaching kids about much more than merely how to balance a checkbook; they’re hoping to instill money habits that will empower youth for a lifetime of wise saving and thoughtful spending. Such education is itself an investment. And in “Advanced degree in charity” (p. 31), Heidi Kyser profiles a group of teens who, encouraged by their parents, formed a tight-knit volunteerism club called TeenMD. What began as a loose group of do-gooders became something much more to these teenagers (and to the organizations they served): Volunteerism became a lifestyle; selflessness, a character trait. And an appreciation of the bigger picture was a lesson they probably wouldn’t have learned in a classroom. As TeenMD member Eve Wellish puts it, “With each project, you look a little deeper and see what needs to be changed in our world.” That’s a decidedly different kind of higher ed.

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But our 2016 Family Issue isn’t all work and no play.

There’s plenty of diversion for summer, fall and beyond.

While the heat reigns well through August, keep this issue handy for a plethora of indoor activities that’ll occupy everyone from toddlers to teens (“The great indoors,” p. 24), whether they like tumbling, trampolining or trying their puzzle-solving skills in the latest craze, escape rooms. When the mercury drops to survivable human levels, our “Wild in the streets (and trails)” (p. 18) guide is a great tool for peeling the little ones away from the iPad and introducing them to the flora and fauna of the Southwest. But who says you even have to leave the house to leap into adventure? In “Hot outside, way cool inside” (p. 34) Scott Dickensheets has put together a crunchy snack bowl of creative games, books and crafts that are perfect for constructive indoor summer fun. And, in what’s become a sort of culinary tradition, Oksana Marafioti is back with more kid-friendly recipes for budding chefs and foodies (“Flight of flavor,” p. 40). And don’t forget our resource guide (p. 59), our expanded compendium of events, amusements and organizations that offer services — and in many cases, just pure fun — to families like yours.

Andrew Kiraly editor

Follow Desert Companion www.facebook.com/DesertCompanion www.twitter.com/DesertCompanion

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special issue

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54

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31

GET OUT!

Home life

Balance

18 resources Give

31 charity case

45 money Going

59 Resource guide

your kids a taste of the outdoors!

The generous youth of TeenMD

beyond balancing the checkbook

24 activities Now

34 fun & Games

48 issues It takes a

Events organizations, activities and information every parent can use

give them a taste of the indoors!

Books, games and crafts to while away those magma months 36 generations It's

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village to stop a bully 54 science Teaching

science with robot battles and drone contests

a crowded house, filled with love and placenta

on the cover

40 Cooking Summer yumz for hungry tumz

Illustration Scott Lien

D E S E R T C O M PA N I O N FA M I LY DesertCompanion.com

The Guide

virg Giu nti a t ec ri tCyRE tD r IaTi nL :e f ct o u rt e sy; p i g gy b a n k : b r e n t h o l m e s ; r o b ot : b r e n t h o l m e s ; t e e n m d : a n t h o n y m a i r

2016

Built to hold your most precious cargo.

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The capability. The Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive with 32 mpg.* Plus, it’s a 2015 IIHS Top Safety Pick. Put it all together, and it’s a vehicle you will always be able to depend on.

Love. It’s what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.

Forester. Well-equipped at $22,395

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Subaru of Las Vegas 5385 West Sahara Avenue (702) 495-2100 Subaruoflasvegas.com Subaru and Forester are registered trademarks. *EPA-estimated hwy fuel economy for 2016 Subaru Forester 2.5i CVT models. Actual mileage may vary. †MSRP excludes destination and delivery charges, tax, title, and registration fees. Retailer sets actual price. 2016 Subaru Forester 2.5i Limited pictured has an MSRP of $28,795.

p u b l i s h e D B y n e va d a p u b l i c r a d i o

Mission Statement Desert Companion is the premier city magazine that celebrates the pursuits, passions and aspirations of Southern Nevadans. With awardwinning lifestyle journalism and design, Desert Companion does more than inform and entertain.

We spark dialogue, engage people and define the spirit of the Las Vegas Valley.

Publisher Melanie Cannon Associate Publisher Christine Kiely Editor Andrew Kiraly Art Director Christopher Smith deputy editor Scott Dickensheets senior designer Scott Lien staff writer Heidi Kyser Graphic Designer Brent Holmes Account executives Sharon Clifton, Parker McCoy, Favian Perez, Noelle Tokar, Markus Van’t Hul sales assistant Ashley Smith NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Couture Marketing 145 E 17th Street, Suite B4 New York, NY 10003 (917) 821-4429 advertising@couturemarketing Marketing manager Lisa Kelly print traffic manager Karen Wong Subscription manager Tammy Willis Web administrator Danielle Branton ADVERTISING COPY EDITOR Carla J. Zvosec Contributing writers Cybele, JoAnna Haugen, Oksana Marafioti, Eric Roberts, Jason Scavone, Sarah Vernetti, Misti Yang, Carla J. Zvosec Contributing artists Anthony Mair, Rick Sealock, Hernan Valencia Editorial: Andrew Kiraly, (702) 259-7856; andrew@desertcompanion.vegas Fax: (702) 258-5646 Advertising: Christine Kiely (702) 259-7813; christine@desertcompanion.vegas Subscriptions: (702) 258-9895; subscriptions@desertcompanion.vegas Website: www.desertcompanion.vegas Desert Companion is published 12 times a year by Nevada Public Radio, 1289 S. Torrey Pines Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89146. It is available by subscription at desertcompanion.vegas, or as part of Nevada Public Radio membership. It is also distributed free at select locations in the Las Vegas Valley. All photos, artwork and ad designs printed are the sole property of Desert Companion and may not be duplicated or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The views of Desert Companion contributing writers are not necessarily the views of Desert Companion or Nevada Public Radio. Contact Tammy Willis for back issues, which are available for purchase for $7.95.

ISSN 2157-8389 (print) ISSN 2157-8397 (online)

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Desert Savvy Design

Board of Directors Officers cynthia alexander, ESQ. chair Snell & Wilmer Jerry Nadal vice chair Cirque du Soleil TIM WONG treasurer Arcata Associates Florence M.E. Rogers secretary Nevada Public Radio

Directors kevin m. buckley First Real Estate Companies Dave Cabral emeritus Business Finance Corp.

Louis Castle emeritus Patrick N. Chapin, Esq. emeritus Richard I. dreitzer, Esq. Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, LLP Elizabeth FRETWELL emeritus City of Las Vegas bOB GLASER BNY Mellon

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Cottonwood Cove at Lake Mead

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travel

You be tripping

for the night and the kids have slipped off to sleep, sneak outside and take in the newto-you view of Las Vegas from the sun deck.

These family-friendly road trips offer fun for all ages — not just in the summer, but all year long B y J o A n na H au g e n

Tip: Renting a houseboat can be pricey, but just about every rental company offers specials to sweeten the deal. Check out seasonal discounts noted online or by phone.

Float-tastic Fun on Lake Mead

Las Vegas families don’t have to travel far to dip their toes into a lakefront vacation, but with water levels dropping at a drastic pace, take advantage of Lake Mead National Recreation Area before it disappears for good. Many daytrippers rent canoes or kayaks to slip in and out of the many coves tucked around the edges of the lake, but shake things up and spend the night on the water with a houseboat rental. A number of compa-

nies offer houseboats starting at 50 feet and increasing in size to larger, more luxurious models that sleep up to 14 people.

For the kids: Once you’re out on the water, there’s nowhere else to turn for entertainment, so rent a houseboat with a waterslide and make sure you’re fully stocked up on kid-friendly food and fun before you set out.

For the adults: After the boat is anchored

Book it: callvillebay.com, nps.gov/lake/ index.htm Canyons and Critters in Kanab, Utah

With a population of 5,400 people, Kanab, Utah, would be easy to overlook, except that this quaint little town has snagged the perfect location from which to explore all things awesome in Southern Utah. Fam-

D E S E R T C O M PA N I O N FA M I LY

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ilies can get their outside on with easy daydrives to Zion National Park (40 miles), Bryce Canyon National Park (70 miles) and the greatly underrated Grand Canyon North Rim (80 miles). Kanab is also home to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, and volunteers of all ages and experience levels are invited to interact with the 1,700 cats, dogs, horses, pigs and other animals that call Best Friends home.

History lessons: Clockwise from left, Kanab, Utah; Ancestral Pueblo dwellings in Colorado; historic Virginia City

For the adults: Well-known Western artist Maynard Dixon lived in Mount Carmel, less than 20 miles from Kanab.

Today, the property is a living history museum with several of the artist’s pieces located throughout the buildings.

Self-guided walking tours ($10) and docent-led tours ($20) are available.

Tip: Some of Southern Utah’s national parks and monuments have restricted access during the fall and winter.

Book it: visitsouthernutah.com, bestfriends.org Urban Escape in Laughlin

Laughlin is often overlooked when it comes to vacation spots, but recent upgrades and changes have made the city an ideal destination for a quick vacay with the family. A mini-Las Vegas in some ways, Laughlin has nine hotel-casino resorts, more than 50 restaurants

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and a riverfront with boating, river paddling, fishing, jet skiing and other ample opportunities to cool off from the desert heat. Visit during the River Regatta (August 12-14) and float down the Colorado River with hundreds of other participants. Bring your own rafts, inner tubes and other float devices — and don’t forget your life vests!

derwood. On the docket for the coming months: Hank Williams Jr., (September 24) and Dolly Parton (September 30).

For the kids: Find all the standard kid-friendly fare around town, including 15 movie screens and a bowling alley. All the casinos have video arcades, though Harrah’s, with more than 60 video game options, is arguably the best one to keep the young ones entertained.

Book it: visitlaughlin.com

For the adults: Tap your toes late into the night at the Laughlin Event Center, which has attracted an impressive roster of entertainers as of late, including Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum and Carrie Un-

Tip: Like most casino-resorts, Laughlin’s properties offer promotional packages that include extras like meal vouchers, drink specials and discounts on other local activities.

Mountaintop Retreat on Mt. Charleston

Most Las Vegas locals head up to Mount Charleston for day hiking in the summer and skiing or snowboarding in the winter, but stay for a few days to escape the valley’s oppressive heat. Dozens of trails in this part of the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area welcome hikers of all ages and abilities.

At night, check into one of the cabins at

k a n a b : c o u r t e s y c i t y o f k a n a b ; dw e l l i n g s : n at i o n a l pa r k service; virginia city: courtesy

For the kids: Cash in on the fresh air and pack a picnic lunch to eat in Jacob Hamblin Park. This large, open park with plentiful shade has a fantastic playground, complete with tandem slides, climbing walls and more.

Mt. Charleston Lodge. “Double” log cabins are larger studio rooms that come with two king-sized beds and fold-out sofa sleepers.

For the kids: Consider signing the kids up for a Junior Ranger Program, which is best suited for kids ages five to 10. And if you’re trying to narrow down the trekking options, look into taking a guided night hike (offered on Friday nights) with a trained naturalist who offers information about nocturnal animals, astronomy and other (appropriate) after-dark topics.

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For the adults: A three-course wine-pairing menu served at the Mt. Charleston Lodge from 5 p.m. to close makes it easy to tip back a drink (or two) after a satisfying day in the mountains.

Tip: Cell phone reception in the area is sketchy at best, so plan in advance and completely unplug during your family trip.

Book it: gomtcharleston.com, mtcharlestonlodge.com A Trip to the Wild West in Virginia City

Pull on your spurs, grab your cowboy hat and mosey on up to Virginia City, Nevada.

Once a thriving mining town, Virginia City has kept its Wild West charm intact. Towns like this have the potential to feel tacky, but well-maintained museums and historic buildings such as the opera house and courthouse balance out trolley tours and gold-panning activities. A self-guided walking tour, available through a mobile app, hits the highlights while also giving your family room to explore at its leisure.

For the kids: Virginia City is known for its weird and wacky festivals including the International Camel Races and the World Championship Outhouse Races. Yes, these events are as goofy as they sound, and yes, you and your kids will get a kick out of watching them.

For the adults: Once home to as many as 115 bars and saloons, it would be a shame to visit the city and not enjoy a drink in one, many of which have been maintained to look as they did in the 19th century. The city hosts several saloon crawls throughout the year. Check in with the tourism office when you visit and find out if one is taking place while you’re there.

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Culture and leisure: Left, the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe; right, the Laughlin waterfront

Tip: Because of its elevation, Virginia City receives an average of 56 inches of snow a year. Check the road conditions before you go.

Tip: Avoid visiting during special events taking place at Northern Arizona University because hotel prices and restaurant wait times sharply increase.

Book it: visitvirginiacitynv.com

Book it: flagstaff.com, flagstaffextreme. com, flagstaffaletrail.com

Cool Getaway in a Hot Place

Sunny fun in Santa Fe

While the summer temperature soars throughout most of Arizona, Flagstaff keeps its cool, with the average high hitting 81F in July. Unsurprisingly, families are drawn to outdoor activities and the city delivers. The Arizona Snowbowl, known for skiing and snowboarding in the winter, is also open in the summer for disc golf and hiking. Additionally, a handful of outfitters in the area offer guided horseback-trail rides, which last about one-and-a-half to two hours on average.

A colorful collision of Southwest art, dining and culture, Santa Fe, New Mexico, has a personality found nowhere else. With several museums (including the country’s only museum devoted to artist Georgia O’Keeffe), dozens of galleries and lots of historic sites, it leans toward the parent-oriented side of family travel. However, outdoor recreation and accessible attractions such as the Harrell House of Natural Oddities and Bug Museum mean there’s a little something for everyone in Santa Fe.

For the kids: At Flagstaff Extreme Adventure, kid-friendly (ages seven and older) and adult-friendly ropes courses with suspended bridges, nets and slides promise to get the adrenaline pumping.

Advance reservations are strongly recommended.

For the adults: The Flagstaff-Grand Canyon Ale Trail spotlights the best in craft

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beer, with 10 stops in downtown Flagstaff and nearby Sedona and Williams.

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For the kids: Though most restaurants have menus that satisfy everyone, if all else fails, head to the Santa Fe Farmers Market (Saturday and Tuesday from 7 a.m.-1 p.m.) or the Railyard Artisan Market (Sundays 10 a.m.-4 p.m.) to mix and match the perfect meal. Look for local specialties like tamales and burritos.

For the adults: Embrace your creativity with a class or workshop while you’re in town. Options are plentiful, ranging from painting and metal working to yoga and cooking.

Tip: Youth 16 and younger are always free at the Museum of International Folk Art, which has some activities and exhibits designed specifically with kids in mind.

Book it: santafe.org, internationalfolkart.org Colorado Time Warp

It’s easy to feel like you’ve been sucked back into the past in Southwest Colorado.

Cliff dwellings tell a story of Ancestral Pueblos who lived here centuries ago, and ghost towns dotting the landscape paint a picture of an even more recent departure. Hop on a guided tour at Mesa Verde National Park, home to nearly 5,000 known archeological sites — some of the best-preserved in the country — and sign up for an ATV trip to the historic ghost town of Animas Forks, located near Silverton.

For the kids: Take a trip on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which has been in operation since 1882.

Winding its way through the canyons in San Juan National Forest, the train passes over bridges and up steep grades.

fo l k a rt m u s e u m : co u rt e sy; l au g h l i n : l as v e g as n e w s b u r e au

GET OUT

R S V P T O D AY !

SUMMER 2016

For the adults: Lots of rivers means lots of river rafting. Some rafting excursions are appropriate for most members of the family (even as young as four years old) but others are intense and high adventure, requiring participants to be at least 16 years of age.

Tip: High altitude plus lots of sunshine equals a high possibility for sunburn.

Wear sunscreen year-’round.

Book it: swcolotravel.org, colorado. com/southwest, durangotrain.com, nps. gov/meve/index.htm Slow Down in a State Park Next Door

Skip California’s coastline, world-famous amusement attractions and crowded national parks on your next family vacation, and head for an underrated (and, unfortunately, underfunded) state park for a breath of fresh air. Located east of San Diego, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park has two family campgrounds and more than 100 miles of trails for hiking, cycling and horseback riding. Green Valley, located at 4,000 feet in elevation, has shallow pools and a creek for splashing around during the day, while many of the park’s trails leave from Paso Picacho, five miles north at 5,000 feet.

JUL. 22

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UTAH SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

S AT U R D AY

JUL. 23

YOU WILL SEE FOUR PLAYS:

Cocoanuts, Three Musketeers, Henry V, Mary Poppins DAT E F R I D AY

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For the kids: Campground areas are crowded with kids on bicycles, but take note that helmets are required for people younger than 18. Remain cautious when driving through these areas to avoid accidents.

For the adults: Kick back and relax around the campfire even after the little ones are tucked in for the night. Purchase firewood at the park entrance or camp host sites, and use established fire rings — Southern California is a beacon for wildfires in the summer.

Tip: Reserve a campsite in advance at 1-800-444-PARK, especially if you plan to visit on the weekend.

Book it: parks.ca.gov

D AT E

S AT U R D AY

OCT. 01

UTAH SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

YOU WILL SEE THREE PLAYS:

Julius Caesar, Murder for Two, The Odd Couple

For more information or to reserve your seats, please visit www.npr.vegas

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resources

Springs Preserve

Wild in the streets (and trails) Introduce your little ones to the great big world outside with these resources

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LAS VEGAS

Bonnie Springs Ranch

The site originally served as a stopping point for travelers heading to California. Today, the ranch features an old-fashioned town, petting zoo, pony rides, and horse stables. Pony rides are available for kids who are at least 5 years old and weigh less than 50 pounds.

Horseback riding is available for kids

age 6 and older. 16395 Bonnie Springs Road, 702-875-4191, bonniesprings.com Boy Scouts of America Las Vegas Area Council

The Boy Scouts organization emphasizes self-reliance, resourcefulness, and leadership skills. Participants learn about the outdoors and nature through excursions to a variety of camps through-

springs preserve: courtesy

I

n a world of tablets, smartphones and video games, it’s easy to forget there’s a wild world of outdoor adventure just beyond your doorstep.

Not ready to haul the family on an epic backcountry hike of the North Rim? Understandable! Here are some newbie-friendly resources that are sure to stoke your kids’ budding appetites for the great outdoors.

By Sarah Vernetti

9thBridgeSchool out the region. Donald Reynolds Scouting Resource Center, 7220 S. Paradise Road, 702-736-4366, lvacbsa.org Cowboy Trail Rides

Project-Based Early Childhood & Elementary School

Inspiring Young Entrepreneurs and Creators

Explore Red Rock Canyon on horseback during one of Cowboy Trail Rides’ guided excursions. The 60-minute Coyote Canyon ride is a good place to start for beginners. Children ages 7 and older are welcome, and helmets are provided.

4053 Fossil Ridge Road, 702-387-2457, cowboytrailrides.com Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs

This 680-acre park features walking trails, picnic areas, fishing ponds, and the historic Tule Springs Ranch. Daily entrance fee is $6 per car. 9200 Tule Springs Road, lasvegasnevada.gov Friends of Nevada Wilderness

This organization is dedicated to protecting Nevada’s public lands. Check their website for volunteer opportunities, a list of wilderness areas by region, and the “kid’s corner” section, which provides a helpful list of online resources for kids.

702-515-5417, nevadawilderness.org

Student Inspired Learning S.T.E.A.M. Integrated Curriculum Individualized Instruction

School Redefined.

Now Enrolling through 2nd Grade.

Limited Availability. Call for a tour today!

310 S 9th Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101 9thBridgeSchool.org | 702.724.1436

Gilcrease Orchard

Seasonal fruits and vegetables are available for picking three days per week from 7 a.m. until noon. In fall, pick pumpkins and enjoy a hayride. 7800 N. Tenaya Way, 702-409-0655, thegilcreaseorchard.org Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada

The Girl Scouts organization encourages girls to have “courage, confidence, and character” by emphasizing leadership skills and community service. Girls learn about the outdoors through camping trips and nature-themed outings. The main office is located at 2941 E. Harris Ave., 702385-3677, girlscoutsnv.org Hualapai Canyon Loop Trail

This trail, located in Summerlin, might not seem like the best place to

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resources

experience nature. However, a stroll at dusk will reveal a host of desert creatures who come out of hiding once the heat of the day has subsided. Kids can look for rabbits, lizards, and other animals during this 1-mile walk. The trailhead can be accessed from a parking lot along Hualapai Way, north of Alta.

Las Vegas Natural History Museum

From sea life to rocks and minerals, the exhibits at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum cover a broad range of natural sciences. Plus, visitors will also find a dose of human history, thanks to the museum’s Treasures of Egypt exhibit. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 3-11. 900 Las Vegas Blvd. N., 702-384-DINO, lvnhm.org Nevada State Museum

Located adjacent to Springs Preserve, the Nevada State Museum showcases the history of Southern Nevada. Learn about local creatures, past and present. Kids will especially enjoy the enormous mammoth that greets them at the

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entrance to the gallery. 309 S. Valley View Blvd., 702-486-5205, museums.nevadaculture.org/nsmlv-home Red Rock Audubon Society

The Jr. Audubon Club strives to help kids develop an interest in birds and explore the outdoors. Membership is $10 per year for children in grades 2-5. The Red Rock Audubon Society’s website is a helpful resource, providing a list of bird festivals in neighboring states for those looking for feather-filled road trip ideas.

702-390-9890, redrockaudubon.com Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Red Rock Canyon offers many opportunities for outdoor exploration, including hiking trails, picnic spots, and a visitor center with nature-themed outdoor exhibits. Visitors can also drive the park’s 13-mile scenic loop. Admission is $7 per vehicle. Annual passes are available for $30 per person. Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association, 1000 Scenic Loop Drive, 702-515-5367, redrockcanyonlv.org

Shark Reef Aquarium

Learn about sharks, sting rays, and other water-loving creatures at Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef. In addition to visiting the aquarium’s permanent residents, guests can also check out the special exhibit Sea Monsters Revealed, which runs through October 2016. Located inside Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd.

S., 702-632-4555, sharkreef.com Spring Mountain Ranch State Park

This state park, which is located within Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, offers a quiet retreat for visitors. Hike the relatively short Overlook Trail to enjoy beautiful views, or take a tour of the historic ranch house. Admission is $9 per vehicle, but Nevada residents receive a $2 discount. 6375 NV 159, 702-875-4141, parks.nv.gov Springs Preserve

The quintessential family destination in Las Vegas, Springs Preserve greets guests with a unique, desert-themed playground, botanical garden, plenty

h e m e n way pa r k : s c ot t l i e n ; n e va d a s tat e m u s e u m : c o u r t e s y ; w e t l a n d s pa r k : c h r i s t o p h e r s m i t h ; b o n n i e s p r i n g s : c o u r t e s y ; s h a r k r e e f : c o u r t e s y ; s n ow c a n y o n : u ta h s tat e pa r k s

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Parks and recreation: Clockwise from left, Hemenway Park, Nevada State Museum, Wetlands Park, Bonnie Springs, Shark Reef

likes to congregate in the shade. 401 Ville Drive, bcnv.org Lake Mead National Recreation Area

From hiking to boating and water sports, Lake Mead offers a wide array of nature-based activities for families.

Take a hike along the Historic Railroad Tunnel Trail or enjoy water sports like kayaking and canoeing. 10 Lakeshore Road, 702-293-8990, nps.gov/lake HENDERSON

Dive Las Vegas

of desert animals, and indoor museum space. Admission is $9.95 for Nevada residents and $4.95 for Nevada children ages 5-17. Admission is free for children age 4 and younger. Senior, student, and military discounts are available. 333 S. Valley View Blvd., 702-822-7700, springspreserve.org Vegas Roots Community Garden

Vegas Roots is a four-acre urban farm that offers nutrition classes, gardening instruction, and school field trips. Kids can sign up for the Lil’ Roots Gardening Club, which meets once per month and includes gardening and cooking lessons.

715 N. Tonopah Drive, 702-636-4152, vegasroots.org

Wetlands Park

Wetlands Park, and the accompanying Nature Center and Exhibit Hall, highlight the unique ecology of the wetland landscape. Take a stroll along one of the park’s many pathways, while keeping an eye out for local wildlife. Inside the museum, visitors will find family-friendly, interactive exhibits. 7050 Wetlands Park Lane, 702-455-7522, clarkcountynv. gov/parks

Believe it or not, you can learn to scuba dive or snorkel right here in Southern Nevada. Dive Las Vegas offers a variety of classes, some for kids as young as 6 years old. Classes for beginners are held at pools throughout the City of Henderson. Open water, PADI certification dives at Lake Mead are also available for participants older than age 10. Dive Las Vegas, 702-897-5111, divelasvegas.com/ classdescriptions.htm

BOULDER CITY

Ethel M. Cactus Garden

Hemenway Park

The cactus garden features 300 different species of desert plants, including cacti, succulents, and desert-loving trees and shrubs.

This is an ideal spot for a leisurely stroll with youngsters who aren’t quite ready for a more intense hike. After exploring

This small community park includes playground equipment, a grassy lawn, basketball courts, pretty views of Lake Mead, and — perhaps most importantly — a resident herd of big horn sheep that

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resources

From tyke to trekker Tips on introducing your family to the outdoors n Start small, stay local. Starting with

local parks and wilderness hikes is a great way to spend a few hours in nature without a huge time commitment.

Develop a real love for certain wild places or adventures, with short, local trips before you whip out the credit card at REI or plan the week-long stay in the back-country. n Let curiosity lead you. Have you ever

wondered what’s on the other side of that mountain, or where that path leads? Ask your kids to pick an outdoor adventure and then go learn something new – together. n Be prepared. The desert is a beautiful

place, but the outdoors is also full of situations that can turn a fun trip into a headache in a few short moments.

Be sure to always bring plenty of water, sunscreen, a first-aid kit, and let folks at home know where you are headed and when you plan on being home. Even just a quick jaunt can take an unexpected turn. n Take pictures, leave footprints. The

the garden, visitors can take a tour of the chocolate factory. 2 Cactus Garden Drive, 1-800-438-4356, ethelm.com

6725 Lee Canyon Road, 702-385-2754, leecanyonlv.com

Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve

This state park, located just north of St. George, Utah, features plenty of picnic areas, trails, and rock formations.

Families with young children can try the relatively easy trek along the Pioneer Names Trail. Park admission is $6 per vehicle for up to eight people. 1002 Snow Canyon Drive, Ivins, UT, 435-628-2255, stateparks.utah.gov

The park is home to numerous species of birds, including migrating water fowl that gravitate to the preserve’s ponds.

The best time for bird viewing is early in the morning. Binoculars are available to borrow. 350 E. Galleria Drive, 702-2674180, cityofhenderson.com DAY TRIPS

Star Journey (NV)

Death Valley National Park (CA)

Escape the light pollution of the city, and travel to Goodsprings, NV for stargazing near the historic Pioneer Saloon.

Star Journey at Pioneer Saloon, 310 NV 161, Goodsprings, NV, 801-382-7827, starjourney.net

Hike to the top of a sand dune, stand hundreds of feet below sea level at the lowest point in North America, or enjoy stargazing at Death Valley National Park. Families can try camping or stay at one of the park’s four hotels, although Death Valley makes a reasonable day trip from Las Vegas for those who prefer the comfort of home. Always bring plenty of water. 760-786-3200, nps.gov/deva Lee Canyon (NV)

Formerly known as the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort, Lee Canyon offers summer activities like scenic chairlift rides and disc golf in a picturesque, wooded locale. In winter, families can take skiing or snowboarding lessons.

desert looks pretty rough and tough, but in reality, it is a very fragile environment that can be easily damaged if we are not careful. Take the time on each trip to teach good stewardship so your kids can have these same experiences with their kids. n Solitude, together. There is no better

place to grow closer together as a family than in the quiet solitude of nature.

Something magic happens when the television is out of reach and cell service is out of range and families have nothing but each other and the natural world before them. Come and see! ­Eric Roberts Eric Roberts is a father and outdoors enthusiast. He is a board member of Friends of Nevada Wilderness.

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Snow Canyon State Park (UT)

Snow Canyon

Valley of Fire State Park (NV)

In addition to being quite picturesque, this park, famous for its red rock formations, is ideal for hiking, picnicking, and rock scrambling. The Mouse’s Tank Trail is a good place for families to start, thanks to its reasonable half-mile length and soft, sandy pathway. If you look closely, you’ll find petroglyphs along the way. Admission is $10 per vehicle. Nevada residents receive a $2 discount. 29450 Valley of Fire Road, Overton, NV, 702397-2088, parks.nv.gov/parks

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activities

The Great Indoors Don’t let the heat spoil your kids’ summer fun. Get active at these high-energy hot spots that’ll still keep them cool By misti yang

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p h ot o c o u r t e s y o r i g i n c l i m b i n g a n d f i t n e s s

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Kid rock: Origin Climbing and Fitness

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P

ools are the classic refuge for summertime frolic. “Marco?” “Polo!” has echoed across backyards for generations, but reapplying sunscreen in triple-digit weather every halfhour doesn’t always make for the perfect summer day. With excessive heat outdoors and vacation-hyped children afoot, it’s nice to have options that don’t require a sun-protection factor. Seeking water may be your first instinct when the heat hits, but this guide will remind you that the air-conditioned great indoors offers just as many worthwhile adventures.

“Museum” may not evoke the same fun as “wave pool,” but how about “Water World?” For those of you too young to immediately imagine Kevin

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Costner adorned in drenched leather, Discovery Children’s Museum (360 Promenade Place, discoverykidslv.org) capitalizes on H2O’s appeal with the aptly named exhibit that includes hands-on experiences such as air blowers and boats. It’s a compromise that still allows for splashing a little brother or sister. Plus, this summer the museum hosts the Clifford The Big Red Dog traveling exhibit. If cartoon canines are not quite your idea of museum material, peruse the achievements of Ancient Rome with your brood through September 11 at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum (900 Las Vegas Blvd. N., lvnhm.org). Maximize your investment by visiting on Tuesday or Thursday at 2:30 p.m. or Saturday at 2 p.m. to catch a live shark feeding. Do not fear. It’s more Dory

than Jaws, which means little hands are safe. For the kiddo who aspires to an exhibition of their own, Henderson is home to Create (1570 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway #170, createhenderson. com), an arts and crafts studio that offers Craft & Play, a featured craft project, plus unlimited play in their indoor playground for younger than 7, as well as open crafting for all ages. This summer they’re hosting several camps, including an entire week dedicated to Star Wars. Sew-bi-Wan Kenobi may or may not make an appearance.

Romp ’n’ roll

While galaxies of glitter make noteworthy playgrounds, the local roundup of indoor romper rooms deliver surprises of their own. It’s not every day you see an octopus carousel, but the oc-

k a n g a m o o : C o u r t e s y ; HKPK : C h r i s t o p h e r s m i t h ; m e e p l e v i l l e , p i n b a l l : b r e n t h o l m e s ; D i scov e ry c h i l d r e n ’ s m u s e u m : co u rt e sy

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Play lands: Clockwise from left, Kangamoo, HKPK, Pinball Hall of Fame, Discovery Children’s Museum, Meepleville

topedal-go-round is front and center along with plenty of slides and ball pits at Adventure Indoor Playground (5693 S. Jones Blvd. #114, adventureindoorplayground.com). For the smallest of tykes, Fidgets Indoor Playground (7835 S. Rainbow Blvd. #15, fidgetslv. com) has a dedicated pre-walkers area, and recently started providing something special for adults with children at play: adult yoga on Thursdays from 9-10 a.m. If downward dog is not your forte, just bring your laptop and tap into the free Wi-Fi. Three levels of mega-jungle gym are the centerpiece of Kangamoo Indoor Playground (1525 E. Sunset Road #7, kangamooplay.com), and the indoor track ensures that parents can make laps, keep cool, and observe the little ones at play. Or you can leave hyperactivity to the young at heart and

kick back in one of the shiatsu massage chairs instead.

If your offspring has graduated from bounce houses, the valley has several trampoline parks for more sophisticated aerials. In addition to wall-to-wall canvas, FLIPnOUT Xtreme (4245 S. Grand Canyon Drive #111, flipnoutxtreme.com) houses the only indoor zipline in town and Laser Tag Warehouse Wars — four words that are long overdue as a compound phrase. As implied by its name, Rockin’ Jump (7200 Montessouri St. #160, lasvegas.rockinjump.com) provides both rocks and hops, which may

With vacationhyped children afoot, it’s nice to have options that don’t require a sun-protection factor.

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sound dangerous, but there’s no need for concern. The rocks appear in a rock-climbing obstacle that allows competitive spirits to race to the top. Rockin’ Tots jump time ensures smaller folk (children younger than 6) will not be trampled Monday through Thursday from 9-11 a.m. and Saturdays from 8-10 a.m. For a true family affair, Gravady (7350 Prairie Falcon Road #120, gravady. com) has a flat rate for the entire family on Monday nights 6-9 p.m. Be sure to take a swing on their trapeze to get the full experience.

Bouncing off the walls is really a thing in North Las Vegas at HKPK Las Vegas (3680 N. Fifth St. #130, hkpklv.com), the largest parkour facility in the United States, with 20,000 square feet of parkour structures, trampolines, a spring floor, a 60-foot tumble track, plus dozens of modular obstacles. In case you’re not familiar with parkour, it’s a sport that involves moving through a city by jumping, leaping, and running off of and through buildings and structures; probably easiest if you Google it to see what your kids are getting into. Or, you can sign up for one of their summer camps (for ages 7 and older) or training classes in parkour, trampoline, tricking (a combination of kicks, flips and twists), or aerial silks. Sign your 3- to 6-year-old up for the Little Ninja Class.

Balls and boards

Virtual aerials greatly reduce the risk of bumps and bruises and increase the rate of pizza consumption. This law of physics is appreciated by Press Start Gaming Center (1550 E. Tropicana Ave. #7, psglv.com), as demonstrated by their monthly lock-ins that allow all ages to game all night and consume bottomless boxes of Italian pies. Or, you can just stop in to play their consoles and library of games on one of their 40-plus stations.

You can make a day of it and wander across the parking lot to the Pinball Hall of Fame (1610 E. Tropicana Ave., pinballmuseum.org) where a fist full of quarters buys access to 10,000 squarefeet of flippin’ old-school fun.

Speaking of old school, even electric-

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ity is not required to partake in the board game wonderland that is Meepleville Board Game Cafe (4704 W. Sahara Ave. #2, meepleville.com). The self-proclaimed “second happiest place on earth” has a library of more than 1,000 board games, and you don’t have to worry about deciphering long instruction manuals, as the staff is happy to help you learn and master any game.

Also on the west side, Game Nest (4545 W. Spring Mountain Road #104, gamenestlv.com) is a pay-by-the-hour arcade which earns you unlimited access to free-play arcade games. In addition to DanceEvolution, Fighter, Puzzle and more arcade games, they have six console stations with the choice of XBox One, Playstation 4, or Wii-U. If you’re wondering, “Why battle imaginary foes?”, Battle Blast Laser Tag (8125 W. Sahara Ave. #200, battleblastlv.com) answers with a multi-level arena, phaser packs and an unfolding drama of hide-and-seek, tag, and capture-theflag. For the summer, Battle Blast is offering all-you-can-play specials and special theme weeks. You may get psyched for “I love the ’80s” week, but you will probably end up at “Potter-tastic” defending Hogwarts with at least two of your favorite kids.

The great escapes

Being locked in a room with your family may not be magical, but the escape rooms in town give you an opportunity to try it out. The idea is simple: you are locked in a room with a group and you have a set time to solve a series of puzzles to “escape.” Each location has specific age restrictions and several rooms to choose from, so do your research before rounding up the family. Here are some of our favorite themes: At Lockdown (3271 S. Highland Drive, lockdownrooms.com) you can engage in a simulated hostage negotiation for the release of your best friend. Perhaps a bit less stressful is the Sherlock Room inspired by Holmes himself at Countdown Live Escape Games (2959 Westwood Drive, countdownescape.com/lv).

At Live Escape Adventure (6376 W. Sa-

hara Ave., liveescapeadventure.com) everyone can live out their Indiana Jones fantasies with a visit to the room of Pharaoh’s Curse. Finally, the name may be a tad extreme, but the family that escapes a zombie virus together stays together at Escape or Die (3064 W. Post Road, 34escapeordielv.com).

Bull’s-eyes, home runs and rock walls

Your inner grandpa may be asking, “What happened to good old fun? The kind without zombies?” Fair question, and although arrows could be handy during the apocalypse, Pacific Archery Sales (4084 Schiff Drive, pacificarcherylv.com) does not require the undead for a grand old time. You can take a shot on one of their indoor archery lanes, take a lesson, or go all Robin Hood and sign up for a summer league. Speaking of summer: Baseball.

You may have thought it was impossible to swing, batter, batter in sub-100 degrees here in town, but behold Extra Innings (7200 Montessouri St. #190, extrainnings-lasvegas.com), an indoor batting cage facility where you can walk right in and use token-operated baseball and softball batting cages and tunnels. Bows and bats are not required at Nevada Climbing Centers (3065 E. Patrick Lane #4, nvclimbing. com). With just two firm grips, you and the crew can navigate 27 top rope walls, a 30-foot, 45-degree inverted climb, and a bouldering cave. In Henderson, Origin Climbing and Fitness (7585 Commercial Way, originclimb.com) provides similar adventures but in technicolor. The 23,000-square-foot climbing, yoga and fitness center offers kids’ climb time Saturdays and Sundays; it includes rental equipment and an Origin Instructor to guide and belay your child while you run out for a frappuccino. As you sip that refreshing beverage, remember that frozen treats and water features are not your only respite this summer. Stuff this handy guide in your glove box for easy reference, and stay cool by seeking out the great indoors.

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I hold water to a higher standard.

The Superstar Standard.

My name is Matt, and my job at the Southern Nevada Water Authority is to make sure water delivered to your home meets or surpasses all state and federal drinking-water standards.

At home, my job is to make sure my family drinks plenty of clean, healthy water.

At the SNWA, we keep a very close eye on water quality, conducting hundreds of thousands of analyses every year to verify the quality of our drinking water. And that makes both of my jobs a lot easier.

We know that some customers use additional home water treatment devices and want to help you make informed decisions. If you have questions or would like objective information about supplemental water treatment systems, visit snwa.com or call 702-258-3930.

The SNWA is a not-for-profit water utility.

portr ai ts of the pl ac e s where we l i ve, work and p l ay

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Advanced A degree in charity community

A group of local teens proves that community service can be fun, fulfilling and high-impact B y H e i d i K ys e r

P h oto g r a p h y a n t h o n y m a i r

little after 6 a.m. one October morning, half a dozen Green Valley High School sophomores and their moms stood shivering in a parking lot near West Washington Avenue and G Street. Julia Occhiogrosso, of the Las Vegas Catholic Worker, pulled up with a trailer full of coffee and tea, food and industrial kitchenware. Following Occhiogrosso’s directions, the sleepy-eyed kids helped set up a soup line and then manned serving stations. Homeless men and women wandered into the lot and lined up for the free food that the community charity doles out four days a week.

Charlie Newman, a tall baseball player with shaggy hair and hazel eyes, flipped pancakes and watched as people took washcloths to clean up before eat-

ing. Later, he’d tell his mother, Deborah Newman, that he was struck by their gratitude and good manners, and saddened to see how many military veterans were among the city’s homeless. Before heading home around noon that day in 2013, the Newmans and their friends served more than 150 people.

But the remarkable part of this story isn’t just the volume of need met – the Catholic Worker soup line routinely attracts as many as 200 – it’s the fact that the Green Valley group was neither putting in mandatory community service hours for school, nor volunteering for an official nonprofit organization. Yet, despite the casual nature of their efforts, they got together nearly every month for six years and lent a hand to someone

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community

who needed it. Called TeenMD, short for teens making a difference, the kids recently finished high school and will soon head off to college. But the impact of what they did will last for years to come.

A history of giving

I

n 2007, during lunch with some female friends, Henderson resident Leslie DeBore floated an idea for an activity that she’d heard about a similar group of Orange County friends doing: What if, instead of spending $50 on lunch, they pooled their money once a month for a charitable cause? DeBore’s friends loved the idea, and their informal give group was born.

There were a few ground rules: They decided to avoid overtly political and religious activities, but otherwise could give the money to whomever they collectively decided on, from a neighbor who’d fallen on hard times to a formal 501(c)3. There would be no strings attached, and the low amount would keep them under the tax limit.

The give group has succeeded beyond what the friends expected when they started it nine years ago. This fall, they’ll hit the $50,000 mark in total donations.

“I think the reason it worked for me is because it was so easy and a good way to give,” says Deborah Newman. “Then after a few years I realized, you know what? I want that for my kids. … I can see the way our society moves. Sometimes people are not so charitable, and I think it’s important.”

In 2010, a few of the women in the give group had kids who were seventh-graders. A mix of boys and girls, they’d grown up together and were good friends.

Their moms wanted to encourage them to do something like the give group, but recognized that the teens would have to offer something other than money, since they had little of their own. How about their time?

The moms got everyone together for a pizza party and – like DeBore had done with them three years earlier – proposed the idea of a volunteer project.

The girls were receptive and the boys didn’t object, which, at their age, was tantamount to approval, their mothers

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say. After a meeting or two more, they had full buy-in from the kids, a mission statement and a name: Teens Making a Difference, TeenMD. “There were 12 of us, so the idea was, each of us would take a month,” says Cyndy Mahoney, who fills the role of unofficial den mother. “So, you and your child would decide, ‘OK, we’re going to do Three Square,’ and then (that family) would take care of setting it up and letting everyone else know when and where we’re going.”

How each parent-child team operated was up to them. In some cases, Mom took charge; in others, Junior was more involved. In general, they gravitated toward causes that resonated with the kids. A sporty boy named Noah Whitehead usually picked the Tour de Fire, a long-distance bike ride that benefitted the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation. A pet lover, Haley Kaminsky tended to choose animal rescues and shelters, such as Heaven Can Wait. One mom, Janet Wellish, kept a folder of ideas for anyone who was short on inspiration.

“One thing we took from our give group was to have the kids learn about the different needs and opportunities within our local community,” Mahoney says. “When you’re at Three Square, they give you a tour and talk about the food bank and where the food goes, so it kind of opens your eyes.”

Once those eyes are open, they tend to stay open, according to Bob Morgan, president and CEO of United Way of Southern Nevada. “This is a great way to ingrain in the next generation the core value of giving back,” he says. “It’s a great way to make that world view stick with the next generation. … It stays with them forever.”

Give and give again

P

ausing to reflect on all the places she went with TeenMD, Eve Wellish, Jane’s daughter, lowers her dark brown eyes and leans forward on one elbow.

“Toys for Smiles is one that stands out,” she finally says. “They make toy cars out

of wood, and they had us come in and oil the cars and make sure they didn’t have any splinters or anything that could hurt the kids they were going to give them to.

I remember it being kind of lighthearted. We were playing with the cars, and the boys were being very silly. I think we were sophomores in high school then, but we became like little kids again.”

After they finished polishing what seemed like hundreds of little cars to Wellish, Toys for Smiles founder Rex Doty gave each teen two cars to take home. He told them to keep an eye out for kids who needed toys and give them the cars.

“That really made a huge impact,” Wellish says. “So often, we’d go to a place and do a job and that would be it. But there, we took something with us. It taught me a lesson: Your service projects should never end. … Physically, we might have been done with it, but mentally, we were thinking about the happiness and well-being of children.”

Over the years, Wellish and her friends volunteered for dozens of organizations: Boys and Girls Club of Henderson, Catholic Charities, Goodie Two Shoes, Ronald McDonald House, Tonopah Community Garden – the list is long.

What kept them going, when so many kids’ parents have trouble getting them off the couch and away from their video screens?

“We loved being there so much that showing up was never really a problem,” Wellish says. “It was never a ‘Shame on you!’ thing. It was more, ‘Oh, we missed you.’ We just happened to be friends with this nice, down-to-Earth group of people. It’s definitely rare. I’m lucky to have them.”

She alludes to two factors that seem to be at the heart of TeenMD’s longevity: good group chemistry and a low-pressure attitude toward participation. Although the parents say they expected their kids to commit long-term, they also made it clear from the beginning that conflicting activities, from soccer to church, would take precedent. With guilt-trips out of the equation, the kids went to events, many of which they’d

Want your teen to make a difference? handy advice from TeenMD’s pioneers: n Start early. When kids are in

middle school is ideal, moms said, because after that they get over-extended with activities. n Enlist people who get along. “I

think it worked because the kids were good friends anyway, not just the moms,” Newman says. n Keep it easygoing. Allow them

to put organized events first. “If somebody had a soccer game?

They couldn’t go that day. It’s okay,” Mahoney says. n Keep it informal. No dues and no

agenda means no drama, Newman says. The more demands you make, the less fun it will be. n That said, commit. “It requires a

lot of hard work and time, and you have to really want to do this,” Conner Au says. n Pick a ringleader. Let families

choose causes and organize outings in their own way, but designate someone to keep track of and share contact information, and keep the trains running on time. n Go local. TeenMD prefers

grassroots groups over national organizations, which typically have enough name recognition and marketing to get plenty of volunteers. n Don’t give up. Interest in the

group will wax and wane, Mahoney says, but if you keep it fun, people will keep showing up.

of her son Zach Mahoney, who’s usually pretty stoic. “Some people who airbrush cars for a reality TV show came out and airbrushed stockings with kids’ names and pictures in the parking lot at Sunrise Hospital. Zach and a few of the kids took names and passed out stockings. Afterward, he was just like, ‘That was so awesome!’ He had a Santa Claus hat and a big grin on.”

TeenMD became so much fun that, by the time kids were in high school, driving and carrying their own cell phones, they would get together and do things with no parental involvement at all.

While Mahoney set up a Shutterfly Share site for photos, the kids used GroupMe to communicate the details of outings. The closer the kids got to graduation, with social lives and SATs to worry about, the fewer of them would show up each month. But their enthusiasm didn’t wane, even if only two or three of them could make it.

Based partly on her description of the experience in an essay, Wellish received a $1,000 Powerful Partnership college scholarship from NV Energy. She’s planning to go to George Washington University and double major in business and Spanish. She says she’ll do some kind of community service in college and is hoping that her degree will help her run her own nonprofit someday.

“It’s easier to say than do, but it’s good to keep in mind the concept behind service,” she says. “If you’re going to feed the homeless, for instance, you can do that every day and night, but they’re going to still come back for more, so I guess what I was left with was, there’s a bigger problem. It’s the system that’s making them homeless. So, I think about that problem. What needs to be done to help them so they can find a job and sustain themselves? With each project, you look a little deeper and see what needs to be changed in our world.”

Future give

picked themselves, on their own terms.

“In 2014, we did the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation Toy Run,” Mahoney says, recalling a favorite activity

W

ith Wellish and her peers graduating, what will become of TeenMD? Another generation is taking the baton. Leading the effort are

the mother and younger brother of one senior member, Kelsey Au. “We thought we’d keep it going with these guys,” Jennifer Au says, looking at her son Conner, who’s now a freshman at Green Valley. “This group actually went to the same elementary school as the older group, so they’re really following in their older brothers’ and sisters’ footsteps.”

“It feels like I’ve done something good,” Conner says, describing why he took his mom up on the offer to start TeenMD 2.0 three years ago. “It makes you feel better about yourself to help others.”

He had some experience to build on, having participated in activities with his older sister’s group.

Jennifer says she also has a friend in Summerlin who’s interested in starting a similar group there. Her advice for this friend and anyone else who’s thinking about launching a TeenMD-like initiative: “If you can get at least six or seven kids to commit, it will work. Take the summer off, and during the year, have each kid take one month. … There are many organizations that need help, but even if you know an elderly couple who needs their lawn mowed and trees trimmed, that will work. Encourage kids to come up with their own ideas of how they can help.”

United Way’s Bob Morgan says that he finds his son’s generation is more philanthropically inclined than his own and has the benefit of operating in the information age.

“With the Internet and social media, there are so many ways of communicating now,” he says. “People are able to find causes that resonate with them at a level that maybe wouldn’t have been possible for us.”

Good for them, he adds: “I don’t have exact data, but there is a pretty robust set of data showing that there is a correlation between volunteering as an adult and self-identified contentedness.”

In other words, the kids of TeenMD not only had fun trying to make the world a better place, but in doing so, they also prepared themselves to be happy grownups. And heaven knows, the world can always use more of those.

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homelife

fun & games

Hot ouside, way cool inside When the air is on fire outdoors, these books, games and projects will keep the kids happy indoors READ

Six books that let kids of every age roam freely without leaving the safety of A/C Compiled by Drew Cohen of The Writer’s Block bookstore (ages 4-7) ABZZZZ …: A Bedtime Alphabet (Thames & Hudson, $14.95) This one is for the illustration enthusiasts. Originally published in Portugal in 2014, ABZZZZ … is a bedtime alphabet designed to cajole children into sleep. Each page includes a fact or question (“Did you know that even the strongest bear purrs to sleep …?”). But it’s Yara Kono’s illustrations that steal the show: bright, scintillating and modern.

(ages 5–8) There Is a Tribe of Kids (Roaring Brook Press, $18.99) Lane Smith’s latest depicts a young boy’s journey through a series of collective nouns: a colony of penguins, a smack of jellyfish, a trail of snails. As ever, Smith’s sponge-paint illustra-

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tions are beautiful and full of gentle humor, and the language deeply considered. There Is a Tribe of Kids is perfect readaloud material.

(ages 10 and up) Lungdon (The Overlook Press, $11.99) The third and final book in The Iremonger Trilogy, Lungdon brings the Iremonger family to London, and with them, a host of dark goings-on and supernatural intrigue. Edward Carey debuted this unusual series — a pastiche of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast novels, incorporating the art style of Edward Gorey and the sensibility of Lemony Snicket — a few years back with the superb novel Heap House.

Essential reading for morbidly inclined, precocious youngsters.

(ages 12 and up) Quiet Power (Dial Books, $17.99) You don’t see this often: popular psychology adapted for teens. This is a totally reworked

version of Susan Cain’s hit book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, and it relocates the conversation from the workplace to school, extracurriculars and friendship. The book’s message will be empowering to kid and teen readers who will recognize themselves in Cain’s story.

(ages 12 and up) Saving Montgomery Sole (Roaring Brook Press, $17.99) Monty Sole is a book-smart girl in a small town, and a founding member of Jefferson High’s Mystery Club — a group dedicated to exploring the occult. As if this didn’t single her out enough, she’s got two moms and a gay best friend. Mariko Tamaki’s second YA novel is diverse without being self-congratulatory and combines two topics high on the teenage agenda: identity politics and astrology.

(ages 14 and up) American Girls (Flatiron Books, $17.99)

While grownups are agog for Emma Cline’s The Girls, the teen set can check out Alison Umminger’s American Girls.

Like Cline, Umminger revisits the Manson murders through the prism of the present, and through the gaze of Anna, a 15-year-old runaway navigating turbid waters of B-list Los Angeles. This is mature stuff, but written with an eye for the sensitivities of young-adult readers.

PLAY

The family that plays (board games) together stays cool together Compiled by Timm Metivier of Meepleville Game Café (ages 8-up) Ticket to Ride Settle in for this one — you’re in for 30 minutes to an hour of heat-avoiding fun. Bring a fresh brain, too; the website Board Game Geek says players make “intense strategic and tactical decisions every turn” as they build railroad empires across North America. Yet it’s simple enough for the two to five players to learn in a few minutes.

I l lu st r at i o n b re n t h o l m e s

(ages 8-up)

(ages 12-up)

King of Tokyo Oh, no, there goes Tokyo! In this dice- and card-based game, giant, mutated monsters — avatars of the two to six players — compete to destroy the Japanese metropolis.

Fiercest monster wins! Bonus detail: There’s a card that allows your monster a second life ... in the form of an extra head! Godzilla — and your kids — would approve.

Telestrations In what is basically an illustrated game of “telephone,” four to eight players use small whiteboards to illustrate words, which the next player has to interpret and redraw, and then the next player, until everyone’s had a crack at everyone else’s whiteboard. Then you see just how far afield the iterations have taken you. Everyone wins!

(ages 8-up) Suspend The basic dynamic? Players (up to four) take turns hanging thin, twisty metal rods on a central post. As the wires accumulate into ever-more elaborate, precarious shapes, who will be the player to make it fall? A quick and easy game in which kids and parents are evenly matched.

(ages 8-up) Tsuro Fast and simple, just like summer, Tsuro is a path-building game for two to eight players.

You lay down tiles, creating a route for your dragon, while trying to run other dragons off the board or into each other.

Last dragon on the board wins.

Easy to learn, too.

(ages 10-up) Catan A card and dice strategy game for three or four players, Catan is all about controlling the island of Catan by civilizing it — building cities and infrastructure. Get comfy, as play might continue for more than an hour. But it’s time enjoyably spent, according to Board Game Geek, which says it’s “one of the most popular games in recent history.”

MAKE

Keep your little ones busy and creative with projects from these kids-craft websites Compiled by Desert Companion child-having staff Filthwizardry.com Strike one: The website’s name; it sounds a little, er, dicey?

Strike two: It hasn’t been updated since 2014. But it turns out that “filth wizards” is just an affectionate term for rambunctious/messy kids; and the site’s stasis doesn’t take the charm out of the step-by-step instructions for making loom bands, staging bathtub curling matches or fighting the battle of Hoth in an ice cream bowl.

Childhood101.com Make a school of origami fish.

Decorate some sneakers. Learn what “tabletop monoprinting” is (hint: it’s messy). This site tells you what you need and what you need to know for these and other projects that’ll make time fly.

Disneyfamily.com If you aren’t put off by the ubiquitous brand awareness (though your kid probably won’t mind), there are plenty of fun projects here that run from easy (Dory notecards) to more complex (Marvel photo frames) to cross-stitching.

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homelife

generations

The fullest possible house It’s a very, very, very fine house, with three cats in the loft, four dogs in the yard and people stacked like firewood. Notes on a domestic blitz b y SC OTT DIC KENSHEETS

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et’s begin with an inventory of sorts. As I write this, there are six adults, one preteen, one toddler, two infants, four dogs, three cats, one rat (thankfully caged) living in my house, for a total of 18 significant life forms in these 2,900 square feet. Which isn’t as big as it sounds, especially when you factor in all their stuff. Clothes. Baby furniture. Toys.

Litter boxes. Lumpy bags of miscellaneous items I don’t wanna know about.

That it’s a temporary overcrowding — as you read this, the house will have exhaled four humans and several animals — doesn’t make it any less crazy while it’s happening. Or, frankly, all that unusual for our place. It’s kind of nutty here. (Have I mentioned that one of the infants was born in an upstairs bathtub?

It’s a tale that accounts for the pickle jar in the illustration across the page.) Previously we’ve had seven people and four dogs; seven people — spanning four generations — and six dogs; and there have surely been other arrangements I’m forgetting. Welcome to our home! We’ve always had trouble deciding if it’s best compared to (a) a sitcom; (b) a circus; or (c) a sitcom about a circus.

As you might expect, these days there’s a lot of commotion, a fair amount of barking, plenty of baby squawking, people in one another’s way ... aw, hell, can you tell we enjoy this madhouse?

That we have cultivated it? That when our oldest son, his wife and kids and

i l lu st r at i o n r i c k s e a lo c k

their enormous dog, two cats and pet rat needed a place to stay for a month before moving to Illinois, we said yes right away?

Of course we did. (Okay, we did fret briefly about their dog; it’s rideably large.) Just as we invited some friends, and their dog, to stay with us for a few weeks when they moved to town. Just as we opened our doors to my mother and brother and her three dogs for six months while they were house-hunting.

There’s just something about domestic cacophony that works for us.

I

*****

n the beginning, there were just the two of us: my wife, Laura, and me.

But before the beginning, there were many more children — we both grew up in large families. I had three siblings, she had four; we know our hubbub, bub.

We were born in it. Molded by it. Consequently, once we were married, I didn’t want kids. Zero. Finally, a lifetime of quiet! That lasted until a few minutes after our first child was born. Then came the pivot: “I want nine of these,” I gushed to Laura, brandishing newly born Steven while she lay on the Caesarean table. We settled for three.

Wherever we’ve lived, we’ve always encouraged a casual, crossroads feel to our home. Kids, some of them ours, crashing in the living room; an extra plate or two for dinner. Sure, your friend Daniel can join us on vacation. Like that.

We had dogs adding to the chaos — a pair of schnauzers so smart we had to childproof all the lower cabinets — plus a cat or two. A snake in a terrarium. You know, starter cacophony.

Then the kids grew up and the grandkids started coming.

According to Generations United, an advocacy group, one in every six Americans lives in a multigenerational home.

That’s trending upward, increasing by more than 10 percent in the three-year span beginning in 2007. No doubt the recession has a lot to do with it, cashstrapped families banding together to stretch their resources. As it happens, that’s about when it started for us, too, and the economy had a lot to do with it.

That’s when our first grandchild, Cadence, was born, and to save money, Steven, Cadence and his girlfriend lived with us. The girlfriend eventually moved out, but Steven and Cadence stayed for most of the next seven years. The two schnauzers were succeeded over time by a skittish Yorkipoo, a chill shih tzu and a schnauzer-terrier mix.

“About 7.8 million children across the country live in households headed by grandparents or other relatives,” Generations United tells us. Often it’s a circumstance of last resort, undertaken for unhappy reasons, but that wasn’t the case with us. It’s an amazing thing to have daily access to your grandchild as she grows up. Did I say grandchild? I meant grandchildren. My youngest son,

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home life

generations

Spencer, and his fiancée, Kayla, added not only to the stockpile of grandkids — bearing Liam three years ago — but to the population of the house, the three of them moving in.

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T

he Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival is not just a theatrical presentation – any more than the Taj Mahal is just a house. It’s eight of the liveliest, most professionally-produced plays this side of Broadway.

Drama, comedy, Shakespeare, contemporary theatre and a few genres in between. And it’s conveniently set in the midst of Cedar City’s stunning new Beverley Center for the Arts.

But wait, there’s more: The interactive Greenshow, backstage tours, play seminars, panel discussions with world-class cast members and artists, plus enlightening play orientations. And a nearby renowned national park or two, or three.

No wonder it’s called a festival. It’s also quite accurately referred to as The Greater Escape.

June 27 – October 22 Much Ado about Nothing Henry V The Three Musketeers The Cocoanuts Mary Poppins Julius Caesar Murder for Two The Odd Couple

The Greater Escape.

800-PLAYTIX • bard.org • #utahshakes Ask about Child Pricing.

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*****

ast year, after Steven and Cadence moved out, my mother and brother relocated to Southern Nevada from Colorado, bringing three small dogs and a garageful of stuff. Stay with us!, we insisted. Added to our own fleet of yappers, that made six dogs. (Thankfully, all six had hair instead of fur and didn’t shed.) So, bark bark! the house bark bark! could get very bark bark! noisy. One dog always set off the other five. Nor were any of them inclined to distinguish between, say, a potential intruder and the sound of a leaf blowing down the street. Bark bark!

And you do not want me to describe what six dogs can do to a backyard.

Still, everyone got along pretty well and tempers rarely flared, even when the water heater leaked and required many days of wall and floor removal, not to mention industrial dryers RUNNING VERY LOUDLY night and day, a mold scare, insurance voodoo and time-sucking reconstruction. We had to move my mom’s bed into the living room during the tear-down. Hey, at least the dryers drowned out the dogs.

Through it all, I was mostly able to keep my cool amid the racket. It felt good to help my mother and brother.

And it was especially gratifying to have four generations under the roof. How many kids interact daily with a great grandparent? How many seniors enjoy (or, on some days, endure) the attentions of so much ancestry? The time-span was boggling: When my mother was the same age as the great grandson bouncing on her lap, the atom bomb was still a few years from changing everything; he’ll grow up in a world that would have seemed like science fiction to her back then. There are cultures where this kind of multigenerational home is closer to the norm, and I think they’re on to something. I have to believe that

there are intangible benefits to this familial continuity — each generation is a living road map for the other, of where our family has been and where it’s going.

The six-dog home, on the other hand, is for the birds. (Have we ever owned birds?

Not sure; I might’ve missed them.)

I got even more emotional when I opened the fridge an hour later to find the placenta in a bag, next to the jar of pickles Kayla bought when she was pregnant and immediately declined to eat.

I quickly amended my to-do list: “Tack up plastic sheeting in front of my books, just in case.” ***** So it was that in the wee hours one kay, about the baby and the bath- early May morning, I sat on the stairs tub. As the May due date for Spen- outside a very crowded upstairs bathcer and Kayla’s second child ap- room, listening as the rampant midwifeproached, Kayla let us know that she ry was cut short by the squealing arrival planned to have a home birth in one of of our home’s newest resident, Marshall. our tubs. I was dubious. Our house has (No surgery needed.) The moment a few nice amenities, but a surgery suite seemed to call for a lofty benediction of ready for emergency C-sections isn’t one some kind — perhaps a bit of enduring of them. Should I have someone sign a wisdom about not tossing the baby with waiver or something? I had immediate the bathwater, just in case no one was visions of a 20-hour labor, frantic shouts paying attention during cleanup — but of “It’s crowning!,” rampant midwifery — I was, frankly, overcome with emotion. afterbirth flying everywhere!

I got even more emotional when I

O

S

opened the fridge an hour later to find the placenta in a bag, next to the jar of pickles Kayla bought when she was pregnant and immediately declined to eat. Just a bag of afterbirth — a completely transparent bag, I might add — sittin’ in the fridge. Beside the pickles. As if that’s a normal thing.

Hey, it happens. That’s our life, what can I say.

Postscript: A few days after my son and his family and pets departed for Illinois, leaving the house suddenly quieter and less frenetic, we got a text from a family friend. She’s coming to town for a few days. Could she crash at our place?

Absolutely.

e d P R E S C H OO s n e c i l L Ages 3-5 t a te

Half day and full day classes available Two days or three days a week | Yearly tuition starting at $554.63 Register starting August 1 Classes begin September 19 Valley View Recreation Center, 500 Harris St. | 702-267-4060

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HOME LIFE

cooking

Flight of Flavor Parents and kids will enjoy creating these recipes together — and taking a flavorful flight of international delight by

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OKSANA MARAFIOTI

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photography

CHRISTOPHER SMITH

Iced oranges

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hese orange ices come from the South of France. They make perfect picnic treats, especially on a hot day.

INGREDIENTS: L

2/3 cup of granulated sugar

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1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons of water

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juice of 1 lemon

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14 oranges

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chocolate curls and festive cocktail

umbrellas for decoration

DIRECTIONS:

1. Warm a heavy-based pan over low heat, and add the sugar, ½ cup of water and half the lemon juice.

2. Stir until the sugar melts. Bring the mixture to a slow boil, and cook, stirring often, until the syrup becomes clear. Cool on the counter.

3. Cut the tops off eight oranges, and keep the tops for later use. Scoop out the flesh and set aside in a small bowl. Place the orange shells and tops on a tray and freeze until needed.

4. Grate the rind of the remaining oranges and add to the sugar syrup. Squeeze the juice from the flesh of all the oranges until you have about 3 cups of orange juice.

5. Add half of the reserved orange flesh (just for texture), freshly-squeezed orange juice along with the remaining lemon juice and the 6 tablespoons of water to the sugar syrup. Taste to adjust for sugar. Freeze in a shallow tray for about 3 hours.

6. Remove the sugar syrup tray from the freezer. The mixture shouldn’t be completely frozen. Place into a bowl, stir gently and return in the bowl to the freezer for 4-5 hours, or until firm but not frozen.

7. Fill the frozen shells with the mixture and replace the tops. Store in the freezer until ready to serve.

8. Before serving, push the cocktail umbrellas into the tops and enjoy!

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HOME LIFE

cooking

Russian apple pancakes

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ussian pancakes, or oladyi, are light and delicate, and the apples add natural sweetness, plus vitamins. The vanilla sugar in this recipe can be store-bought or homemade. It’s versatile and easy to make, but if you decide on the homemade version, you do need to prepare it ahead of time: Simply place a vanilla bean into a one- to two-pound container of sugar, and store for about a week for the vanilla scent to infuse the sugar. Use vanilla sugar in pastry and dessert recipes, even coffee.

INGREDIENTS: L

2 Granny Smith apples, cored and peeled

L

1 -2 tablespoons of vanilla sugar (adjust to preference)

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1 tablespoon lemon juice

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3 eggs, separated

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1 cup half-and-half

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1/2 cup milk

L

3 tablespoons melted butter, more if needed for cooking

L

1 cup plus 4 tablespoons unbleached allpurpose flour

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1/4 teaspoon white vinegar

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1/2 teaspoon baking soda

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1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Slice apples thinly and toss with the vanilla sugar and lemon juice. Set aside.

2. Sift together the flour and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks, halfand-half, milk, and 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Stir in the baking soda and vinegar.

Let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

4. Add the apples to the batter and mix well 5. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and add to the batter.

6. Pour 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake onto a hot griddle or a heavy skillet. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until golden-brown on both sides. Because the mixture already contains melted butter, you shouldn’t need any oil on the griddle. However, if pancakes stick, lower the heat and add additional butter as needed.

7. Keep the prepared pancakes in a warm oven until ready to serve.

8. Serve with maple syrup, or be creative with jams, fresh fruit, and sour cream.

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Moroccan c h ickpea tagine

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dish perfect for young vegetarians-in-training. It’s delicious and versatile, and can be served as-is or with a side dish of meat or fish. If you have picky eaters, you can always leave out the spices and herbs, or substitute with the ones they like. However, crusty bread is a must!

INGREDIENTS: L

3/4 cup of chickpeas

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2 tablespoons of sunflower or good quality olive oil (any oil will do here, so don’t be afraid to substitute for the type your family enjoys most)

DIRECTIONS:

L

1 large onion, chopped

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3 garlic cloves, crushed

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1 large tomato, chopped, or 14 oz. canned chopped

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, and fry the onion and garlic until golden-brown, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the chickpeas, cumin, tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a boil, and simmer covered over low heat for 40-60 minutes, or until chickpeas are soft.

3. Before serving, cut the peel of the lemon into slivers and stir into the tagine.

4. Serve while warm, with a side of crusty bread.

tomatoes L

1 teaspoon ground cumin

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2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped

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1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth

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1 lemon

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insigh t and refl ec tion s on mak ing i t al l work in the modern worl d

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money matters

Common cents Modern financial literacy education teaches children to save for a rainy day — and for college, homes and more B y Ja s o n S c av o n e

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n many a school, back in the dark ages before there was a debit card in every wallet and a banking app on every phone, the extent of financial literacy learning was, “Here’s a checkbook. Here’s the column for deposits and the rows for checks. Try not to hold up the line in the grocery store.”

It was perhaps not, in retrospect, the most savvy approach to a lifetime of money

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management. Katie Decker, principal of Walter Bracken STEAM Academy, Walter Long Elementary and Howard Hollingsworth Elementary, knows that even the simplest of financial education can help lay the groundwork for a lifetime of good judgment when it comes to money. She also isn’t particularly shy about what she thinks of the current system’s approach to financial literacy.

“Common sense doesn’t prevail in education,” she says. “To me, (financial literacy) is non-negotiable. It’s part of what we have to teach. It’s one of the things that left the curriculum. I don’t know why it’s not required.” Decker is at the forefront of an aggressive push to help Clark County kids get their nickels and dimes locked up in a piggy bank.

Or, the Piggy Bank, as the case may be.

One that doesn’t take a hammer to free up your rainy day fund. In 2013, the United Way’s newly formed Young Philanthropists Society was looking for a project to make a mark. The permanence of establishing an actual, functioning bank in a school to teach financial literacy appealed to the group, but they weren’t sure how to proceed. Decker convinced the society to launch its Piggy Bank program at Bracken.

Silver State Credit Union is the actual financial institution of record. Everything about the Piggy Bank functions as a real bank. Kids are encouraged to make weekly deposits at an actual, physical walk-up counter (the kind your actual bank has been trying to do away with for years). At Bracken, it was set up in the former school store.

The fourth leg of this project was Andson, an educational nonprofit that focuses on boosting academic improvement and financial literacy for kids. Andson came in and helped design and teach the curriculum in class, in order to turn children into the kind of finance-savvy people that wouldn’t, say, take all the money they earned over multiple summers working at a high school job and blow it on a really cool guitar. (Just speaking, you know, hypothetically.) The program accommodates first- through fifth-graders. At the end of fifth grade, kids can either continue on with an account at the credit union, or they can collect a check to take to another financial institution.

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The society gave kids quarters to get them started. Decker encouraged them to save their own change, too. From that modest start, big things began to happen.

Small change, big changes

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Some parents have zero experience with banks. There are educators who stress the importance of the program during parent-teacher conferences. The idea is if they can get the folks on board, they’ll reinforce these lessons at home. So parents are taught things like how to fill out a deposit slip. They see that kids can use an app to check their balance and see how an account is growing. They get, well, invested.

“My neighborhoods, they don’t bank,” Decker says. “A lot of them are from Mexico. It’s that trust. They learn to trust us.

That’s why they’re participating so much.

They get that we’re trying to help them.”

Kid business

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he Piggy Bank may be one of the most successful recent programs in the local financial literacy landscape, but it’s by no means the first.

P h oto g rap h y N a m e Go e s H e r e

wo years ago, Bracken students collectively saved $30,000. This year they got it up to $50,000. The program first expanded to Hollingsworth, which socked away $9,000. This year, Walter V. Long Elementary got in on the fun and put away $14,000. Hollingsworth was Decker’s first school as franchise principal, and she recently took Long under her wing. She expects those numbers to go up at all of her schools.

Part of the way the school encourages saving is to strip it all down to its simplest components, teaching the difference between wants and needs. Decker knew

she had a hit on her hands when one fifth-grader told her that before the program, he thought candy was a need. Now he knows it’s a want. (This is arguable.)

“If we can focus children on saving and delayed gratification and wants and needs — ‘Should I eat popsicles every day, or if I save the money on the popsicles, what might I have by the end of the year? Maybe I can afford a book at college?’ Let’s get the concept out there (of ) having a savings account and having a reserve in the event you have any emergency come up,” Decker says.

There are kids saving for college, and some saving for houses. Imagine buying property in your early 20s because you had the wherewithal to marshal couch-anddryer change for it in your Inside Out years.

But the program doesn’t stop with the kids.

Parents are learning about saving, too.

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Junior Achievement of Southern Ne- gets more intense as middle-schoolers vada runs economic success programs in have the opportunity to visit Junior nearly 40 schools with 15,000-20,000 Achievement’s Finance Park from Octostudents led by an army of more than 800 ber to December, held this year at the old volunteers annually. Junior Achieve- Lied Discovery Museum site on Las Vement’s kindergarten-through-12th-grade gas Boulevard. curriculum starts with its “JA for a Day” Almost 3,500 students took part in Ficourses, in which volunteers teach finan- nance Park this past fall. Over the course cial lit lessons tailored to specific grade of 4 ½ hours, kids become an adult for a levels. For instance, fifth-graders learn day. They get a life scenario where about entrepreneurship, the types of jobs they’re told how old they are, what their out there, the skills necessary to get them job is, how much they make, if they’re and how all that fits into the global econo- married or have kids, what their credit my. (In case you were wondering who score is, how much debt they’re carrying might take your job out from under you as and what their education level is. With you slowly descend into obsolescence, all of that information, students have to this is the answer.) The organization op- make 25 budgeting decisions and come erates primarily Downtown, and 85 per- up with a one-month balanced budget. cent of its students are from low-income It’s grown-up fantasy camp for all of the schools. That focus allows them to estab- lousy parts of being a grown-up and none lish a feeder system from elementary to of the fun stuff, like buying your own middle school to high school where kids beer or planning a staycation. The idea is are ideally coming into contact with Ju- to gets kids thinking about money mannior Achievement every year. agement, investing, saving and credit, but Jodi Manzella is the chief operating of- there’s also a subtly reinforced message ficer of Junior Achievement of Southern about the importance of education.

Nevada. She started as a volunteer 19 “The goal for the students is not only to years ago, when she went into a Las Ve- understand the important personal figas High School classroom to help kids nancial concepts, but for them to understart their own business. She spent 20 stand that everybody in the room has a weeks taking them through business different life scenario,” Manzella says. plans and market research and promo- “Everybody’s educational level is differtions to sell T-shirts. One girl, who resist- ent. They’re sitting at a table of five peers. ed at first, eventually came around and Someone at the table might have only a designed the shirts. She ended up going high school diploma, some might have a to school for design. Manzella was Ph.D. They see that earning potential is a hooked. Two years later she went to work lot different and you can get a lot more for Junior Achievement. stuff if you get a Ph.D. than if you only “Either we educate these kids now so have a high school education. We want they understand the subject matter and them to understand their ticket to their how it affects them in the future and they future is their education.” can be successful, or we’ll all be paying Money on their mind for them,” she says. “They’re going to he Uplift Foundation, a nonprofit drop out and maybe take government asthat offers various youth programs sistance. That affects our tax dollars. It’s on top of financial literacy, offers truly important to teach students these a similar adult-for-a-day outing in the concepts now and be that prevention.”

The fifth-graders cap off their pro- Mad City Money simulation, in conjunction with the SCE Federal Credit Union. gram with a trip to BizTown, where kids Upon completion, kids get a $25 voucher can help design and manage a simulated to open an account with the financial incity. All three of Decker’s elementary stitution. Uplift also holds an annual ecoschools will make the trek to BizTown in nomic summit, primarily for high schoolSan Diego next year. In eighth grade, it

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ers, that covers everything from money management to credit to scholarships.

That confluence of college and credit cards is a universal talking point to these programs. Manzella warns kids not to do what she did, and sign up for a credit card on the flimsy promise of a free T-shirt. No one should be paying off Taco Bell-and-sneaker debt into their 30s, but that’s the kind of pitfall that financial literacy educators are trying to stave off.

Justin Micatrotto, the co-chair of the Young Philanthropists Society who helped get the Piggy Bank program off the ground, was lucky to have some guidance from his father, because his financial education in high school was virtually nonexistent. Andson’s co-founder, Sonia Anderson, was born in poverty in Guyana and the only way she escaped was by educators helping to give her a leg up. She had to teach her mother how to count, and took over the family finances as a child. After coming to America, she eventually built a debt management business that she sold in 2008. She got into the nonprofit arena because she wanted to do something to help break people’s cycle of debt.

There’s a common thread to these programs, of adults trying to fill in kids on the life skills they themselves never got in school.

“Financial literacy, for me, is one of the most critical things we have to teach our youth,” Decker says. “Living in Las Vegas, a city where people are foreclosing on their houses left and right, seeing parents make financial decisions that are not in the best interests of children, the debts they’re accruing, it’s a huge issue. When you work with elementary-age children, that’s the time to inspire. That’s the time to change that story for them as adults. Saving is a habit. It’s something you have to practice.

Anything we get the kids to develop as a habit while they’re in elementary school, we hope that will carry through with them the rest of their lives.”

It’s enough to make you want to unload the guitar and open a money-market account.

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The bill was signed into law May 20, creating the Office for a Safe and Respectful Learning Environment. It not only establishes systems for reporting bullying, training faculty and staff on bullying issues and protocols for hearings on specific bullying instances, but is aiming to reshape the culture and climate of Nevada schools.

‘Grand effort’

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It takes A village ... to stop a bully. The state has an ambitious new program to deal with the issue — and one zealous new anti-bullying czar B y Ja s o n S c av o n e

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he word “bully” used to evoke images of an overgrown lout shaking down scrawny third-graders for milk money, or the senior-class “mean girl" in the locker room, lording it over a gaggle of timid freshmen. Not pleasant pictures, for sure, but not without an aura of innocence. Kids will be kids, right?

It seems those days are long over.

High-profile suicides like those of Vermont middle-school student Ryan Halligan in 2003 and Missouri teen Megan

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Meier in 2006 drew major media attention to bullying. In 2010, the president and first lady held the first-ever White House Conference on Bullying Prevention. And in Nevada, anti-bullying efforts came to a head in the 2015 Legislature when Gov. Brian Sandoval pushed for Senate Bill 504, which was helped into existence through the lobbying efforts of Jason Lamberth, whose 13-year-old daughter, Hailee, killed herself in 2013. In her suicide note, Hailee addressed both White Middle School and her bully.

n Oct. 1, Dr. Edward Ableser, a 38-year-old mental health professional married to U.S. Sen. Dean Heller’s daughter, Hilary, was tapped to run the office. Ableser has been tasked not only with getting the office up and running, but with winning over the hearts and minds of district administrators when it comes to state’s crusade to wiping out bullying. And make no mistake, that’s exactly how high Ableser is shooting for his office.

“The long-term effect is to take steps at demanding positive and inclusive cultures at our schools so we can eradicate bullying once and for all in Nevada,” Ableser says. “Obviously that’s a grand effort. Our hope is through a combination of some of our programs in this office along with many amazing things the districts are doing, we’ll be able to get to that level in the near future.”

It’s an optimistic goal, to be sure, but bolstered by the passage of 504, there’s no small amount of legislative firepower behind it. The state defines bullying broadly and stipulates that every time any adult at school either witnesses or is told of a bullying incident, then by law, they must report it to the appropriate administrator in order to begin an investigation.

Ableser started with a school climate survey that identified the neediest schools in Nevada. He then allocated social workers, paid for via block grant, to go into schools. To start, there is one social worker per 500 students, up to a total of four per school, to the tune of 164 social workers in 123 schools statewide.

“The extent of their role is to be school climate and culture transformation

I l lu st r at i o n H e r n a n Va l e n c i a

agents,” Ableser explains. “A social worker will come in and provide yearround messaging. They talk about being an upstander, or student of character, that works on providing positive messaging around the school and creating positive culture and climate online from a universal perspective. Their role is to be omnipresent throughout the school.”

There are more than 25 distinct programs individual schools can choose to implement, such as the Be Kind Project, which teaches social and emotional learning; or the Anti-Defamation League of Las Vegas’ No Place for Hate, promoting inclusiveness and tolerance; or even programs as simple as No One Eats Alone, which encourages kids to mix up their lunchtime social circles.

Data on bullying has only been made public for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years, predating the office’s creation.

Statewide there were 4,298 reports with 3,721 incidents determined to be bullying or cyberbullying after an investigation the first year, and 5,638 and 4,939 the second.

More than one in five of those incidents ended in suspension or expulsion.

Since the signing of 504 into law, the number of incidents being reported in Clark County has increased. This, though, is par for the course in what administrators have seen when anti-bullying programs have been codified in other states.

“What I’m beginning to notice now starting this year is that the reporting of incidents has kind of leveled off,” says Brandon Moeller, the assistant director for the district’s Equity and Diversity Education Department. “There haven’t been any big spikes or major increases, so we kind of hit our peak. I’ve looked at other trend data nationwide and usually after it hits a peak, it begins to trickle down a little bit more to kind of an average reporting level. We haven’t quite reached that yet, but I believe we will. I think that will come from people knowing that once they report they’re going to get a reaction from the Clark County School District to stop the situation.

Then we’ll just notice in general a whole cultural change in the district.”

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Empower play

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ith those reports come more investigations, which are the bedrock of anti-bullying policy. They vary district by district. In Clark County, for example, students are brought in one at a time for adult mediation. Any bystanders who may have witnessed the bullying are also interviewed. Parents of both the bully and the victim are notified.

Consequences can vary by school and the number of times a perpetrator has been in trouble, but typically involve a parent-teacher conference, suspensions or a kind of in-school community service where the bully is required to help out around the building. After about 10 days, administrators will check back with the victim to make sure things are still going fine. If there was a repeat offense, the process starts over again.

If a student feels like he or she is being

unfairly bullied by an adult, they have recourse there, too. They can report it directly to the state hotline and the Office for a Safe and Respectful Learning Environment will investigate. There have been 25 cases reported thus far, with 13 being substantiated.

“The situations that have come before me are situations where adults have made emotional comments, language that is hurtful to a child and should not be tolerated,” Ableser explains. “A student is incapable of telling the difference between sarcasm, or that an adult just said something in the heat of their emotion. The adult is supposed to be the stable, calming safe place for this student.

That’s our job in this office, to empower these adults to understand the mistakes that they’ve made, learn from these mistakes and work on schoolwide changes so that other adults don’t make the same

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mistakes, as well as a restorative process so the youth feel empowered by the adult. They hear forgiveness embedded in the conversation with that adult and they feel empowered that the adult is now an ally of that youth.”

“Empower” is a favorite word of Ableser’s. He uses it often, and calls his remedies for these situations “empowerment plans.” They avoid labor issues with the teachers’ union that may come from districts and schools doing their own investigating, but there’s still a carrot and stick in play. “We don’t compel anyone to go through our empowerment plan,” he notes. “However, if a teacher or staff member refuses to engage in this practice, then we have to protect our youth.

We have no other option then perhaps a punitive recommendation to a school district, and the school district is compelled to follow our corrective action plan.”

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It’s part of a soft-touch hardline that Ableser takes with the entire issue.

Loath to lapse out of the soothing positive-reinforcement speak that shades toward Stuart Smalley caricatures of mental health professionals, the only time he moves toward flinty is when he addresses the idea of whether there’s anything of value to be gained in students learning to resolve conflicts on their own without adult intervention. In other words, what about the timeworn theory that kids dealing with bullies on their own builds character and teaches valuable life lessons?

“I would say the people that are claiming those arguments are also the ones that are getting into barfights at 2 a.m. and getting thrown in jail because they feel it’s incumbent on them to settle everything with their own hands,” he says. “It is anecdotal. There’s no science to that. I’m going to call out the administrators who fall into a different paradigm. They’re the ones who have been resistant because they don’t believe in this. I’m not going to ever acquiesce to those old-school ways of thinking, because that’s what’s gotten so many communities in trouble, where kids who have been needing adult intervention, adults have sat on their hands and felt like kids need to go through hard times to become callused and pulled themselves up by bootstraps. (With) that type of resistance, we simply encourage districts to perhaps evaluate their personnel. Perhaps that person might be suited best to become a real estate agent and not work with youth.” If Ableser is so adamant, he says it’s because he has science on his side, citing research, for instance — inconclusive research, at best — about how bullying can trigger, on a genetic level, anxiety and depression.

Getting involved

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ell beyond the schoolyard and the classroom, awareness of bullying seems at an all-time high, too. Joe Navarro is a 25-year veteran of the FBI who served as both a criminal profiler and a behavioral profiler, and has written extensively on nonverbal

communication. He spoke at the Girl Bullying & Empowerment National Conference at Caesars Palace June 28July 1. That the national conference was held here speaks volumes about the collective headspace that bullying is taking up here in Southern Nevada.

Navarro’s two presentations covered

four personality traits that tell the story of a dangerous person, which includes bullying. He also held a seminar on using nonverbal methods to communicate effectively. When confronted with a bully, for instance, Navarro said there’s a technique employed by law enforcement that can be used to de-escalate confrontations.

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Creating distance and angles with your body so you’re not face-to-face with a bully, and avoiding eye contact can help soothe some of those instincts that may trigger a bully into amping up their aggression.

Being cognizant, too, of the types of personalities that tend to bully can help in discerning the right way to de-escalate situations. He breaks them up as the pathologically narcissistic, the paranoid, the predatory and the emotionally unstable.

“We’re dealing with the human brain.

The question is why do they do it?” Navarro asked at the seminar. “They do it because it makes them feel good. It makes the paranoid personality, the narcissistic personality and the predatory personality feel good. The rest of us, not so much.”

At home, parents should look for

signs, the school district’s Moeller says, that might indicate a kid is getting bullied at school. If they’re acting depressed or withdrawn, spending more time by themselves or losing friends, the adults in a child’s life need to keep talking to them until they can get the child to open up. Parents are just as encouraged to report instances of bullying to the school as kids are.

For the state and district, it all comes back to getting adults involved. By engaging with the system, anti-bullying champions hope to transform the nature of punishment, by focusing on restorative practices that try to resolve conflicts between children as they work among themselves, instead of turning to the traditional answers such as suspension or expulsion. The goal becomes not just to revolutionize how bullying is addressed, but to upend what education

is, by shifting the focus from the likes of history, English and math.

“It means as adults we have to understand for that child it’s more important for them to learn how to empathize and care about others than it is for them to understand the Magna Carta and its effects on American civilization,” Ableser says. “Those are important knowledge pieces and sometimes we become lost in the true outcomes we want for our children. I can assure you that, confronted with that dyad, everyone would want a child to gain empathy, to gain the ability to connect with another student and develop those skills instead of a simple knowledge acquisition. So what we’re doing with that is challenging the fundamental premise of what is academics.”

Indeed, if it takes a village to raise a child, the new thinking is that it clearly takes one, too, to deal with bullying.

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>>Go team science!

Robot battles, drone tournaments, fan - filled arenas: The new brand of STEM education is goal- driven, group oriented -- and giddily intense

By Sarah Vernetti

In a world where technology is becoming a cornerstone to career success — and in a city that continues to expand its economy beyond the service industry — it’s no surprise that STEM education has become a focus for parents and educators alike. A background in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) can help students prepare for future careers in a host of fields, from architecture and engineering to biology and biomedicine.

And they’re no longer just studying it through books, laptops and long formulas scribbled on dry-erase boards. In recent years, STEM education in Las Vegas has

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had a reboot. From science expos to robotics competitions, STEM experiences are leaving the traditional classroom setting in favor of convention centers, museums, parks, and even fan-filled sports arenas. And more and more, the T in STEM is starting to stand not just for “technology,” but also for “teamwork.”

Consider: In May, enthusiastic fans and intensely focused competitors gathered in St. Louis, Mo. Instead of cheering for their favorite athletes, the fans were watching a battle between high school teams at the FIRST Robotics World Championships. One of the teams that participated in the event, the High Rollers from Cimarron-Memorial High School, earned the prestigious Chairman’s Award.

“The Chairman’s Award is only given out once a year at the world championships to the team that is the best of the best on the field, off the field, and in their community. It’s what every team aspires to become. This year our team was the first team from the state of Nevada to ever win it,” says Eric Stensrud, who has served as a coach for the High Rollers team for 13 years. The Chairman’s Award also earned Cimarron High School’s team a spot in the high school robotics hall of fame as well as a lifetime invitation to the FIRST Robotics World Championships.

In Cimarron’s division, students were given six weeks to create and program large robots for competition. This year’s challenge combined capture-the-flag, basketball, and Renaissance-style castles, giving students the opportunity to learn about engineering, robotics, and, perhaps most importantly, teamwork.

“There’s a lot of good science that they learn through the hands-on activities. But they also learn how to plan, how to think, how to work as a team, and how to problem-solve. Even more importantly, they learn how to communicate,” says Jean Hoppert, FIRST Nevada Board President.

“You can have the best idea in the world, but if you can’t communicate it or sell it or market it, then it doesn’t happen.”

Game-changers FIRST Nevada is a division of the global organization, FIRST, which offers programs for students in elementary, middle, and high school. Founded by entrepreneur and inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST strives to help inspire tomorrow’s technology leaders. Children as young as age 6 can joining the FIRST LEGO League Jr. Challenge, honing their skills throughout FIRST programs as they grow, culminating with the FIRST Robotics Competition for high school students.

The organization takes the practicality of STEM-based learning and combines it with the excitement of sports. Just like

The droid you’re looking for: One of the Cimarron-Memorial High School robotics team’s contenders.

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dedicated athletes, FIRST Robotics Competition participants spend long hours honing their craft. But unlike a sport, where the rules are constant, robotics presents an ever-shifting set of circumstances, and students must learn to adapt.

“With robotics, every year, the game changes. So the students have to change their mindset,” says Stensrud. The ability to adapt can help students in the future when they enter the workforce.

Cheryl Wagner, Coordinator for The Clark County School District’s Community Partnership Program, believes that an understanding of technology and the ability to think creatively will be increasingly important as students move on and begin the job hunt.

“The technology industry is so critical to everything we do today as a society. We have to build a workforce to fill jobs that don’t exist yet and that we don’t even know the technology for yet. So we as educators have to start preparing our children,” she says. “If I’m a teacher in a classroom, I have to teach these students about STEM, how put it all together, and how to creatively think and creatively design.”

In addition to the practical skills that students learn through FIRST programs, they also forge new friendships, connecting with others who have a similar interest in technology. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that more than $25 million worth of scholarships are available for FIRST students nationwide who plan to pursue degrees in STEM disciplines.

Students and parents are definitely taking notice of the opportunities FIRST programs can provide. “The participation and number of teams for U.S. FIRST and for FIRST Nevada continues to grow and expand each season,” says FIRST Nevada Regional Director, Angela Quick. She notes that, compared to last season, FIRST Nevada saw an overall increase of 5.6 percent in the number of teams across all four programs. That participation includes kids from a variety of educational backgrounds, including the homeschooling community.

“We are really at a critical stage here in our educational system, and we need something to inspire young people to

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Future perfect: Hyde Park Middle School’s Team Kilau, from left: Isha Shah, Sydney Lin, and Krishna Patel

pursue education.

This program actually inspires young people to apply the knowledge they’ve learned. Our goal is to have every child who wants to participate have a place to do so,” says Hoppert.

Bots in the sky Meanwhile, Las Vegas-based Skybot Business and Innovation Challenge, a relatively new program, puts robotics concepts and the thrill of competition into flight. Teams of students learn to operate and repair drones, competing in fastpaced events that include obstacle courses and time trials.

“We did a trial competition in May, 2015, and it turned out to be phenomenally successful. The kids had to learn how to repair and run the skybots and how to replace parts,” says Steven Curtis, Executive Director of the Skybot Business and Innovation Challenge.

Twenty-seven teams participated in the 2016 Skybot Challenge, representing schools from across the valley, including Hyde Park Middle School, Agassi Prep Middle School, Sunrise Mountain High School, Faith Lutheran Middle School, Findlay Middle School and Lied Middle School.

“Our motto is, ‘Passion, innovation, and discovery.’ One thing about skybots is that kids instantly take to them. If I walk into a classroom with a skybot, they are just drawn to it. So, it’s easy to get kids involved and get them interested in this,” says Curtis.

Like the FIRST Robotics Competition, the Skybot Challenge does not focus solely on technical skills. It also encourages communication skills, teamwork, and business-savvy. And it does so at a critical point in children’s lives, says Curtis.

“Teamwork is very important, and I don’t think kids think about that all the time.

You’re planting the seeds in middle school for the rest of their lives, in terms of their habits and attitudes,” he says.

Building cities with science STEM-based competitions aren’t reserved for kids who want to fly a drone or program a robot. Middle school and high school students compete each year in the Nevada Science Bowl, hoping to earn a trip to the national competition held in Washington, D.C. The competition has grown from 19 high-school teams when the Nevada Science Bowl was introduced in 1991, to more than 30 teams in 2016.

Another popular STEM contest is the Future City Competition, where tomorrow’s engineers learn about sustainability and city planning. Each school year, Future City competitors are given a particular problem to solve, and each team must research and design a city that demonstrates a solution to the problem.

First, teams of middle school students use the SimCity platform to create their virtual city. They also write an essay, build a 3-D model, and present their plans to a panel of judges. Past challenges have focused on topics such as green energy and urban agriculture. This year’s challenge will focus on the importance of multiuse public space. Last year, students tackled the topic of solid-waste management systems.

Like the FIRST Nevada Robotics Competition and the Skybot Challenge, Future City participants are rewarded not only for their technical skills, but also for their ability to communicate effectively and work as a team. Each team consists of three members, and all participants must take part in each phase of the competition, ensuring that the Future City challenge is a team effort. In April, Team Kilau from Hyde Park Middle School received a particularly important honor: They were invited to the White House Science Fair, thanks to their design of a sustainable, waste-free city. Such a buzz-

P h ot o g r a p h y N a m e G o e s H e r e

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worthy honor helped the Future City program gain additional momentum in Southern Nevada.

“Some of the educators from last year have already signed up. So we’re expecting a pretty big year,” says Pom Jintasawang, Future City coordinator.

In addition to earning a trip to the White House, Hyde Park’s team also won the Southern Nevada Future City Competition and received the Most Sustainable Buildings Award at the national competition in Washington, D.C. in February.

Field trip reloaded Although STEM-based competitions are gaining popularity, they aren’t the only avenue for studying science and math. It’s important that hands-on STEM learning also finds its way into regular school hours, through field trips to the valley’s many parks and natural areas. Providing these

kinds of interactive experiences requires teamwork of a different kind — this time on the part of educators.

The CHOLLA (Connecting Hands Offering Lifelong Learning Adventures) consortium connects students with STEM activities through their partnership with the Clark County School District and dozens of parks, museums, and state agencies, including Red Rock Canyon, Wetlands Park, the Neon Museum, and Springs Preserve. One of CHOLLA’s goals is to help ensure that school field trips go hand-inhand with classroom curriculum and that local venues offer students valuable experiences while also keeping safety in mind.

“CHOLLA is a collection of informal educators. We all get together on a regular basis to set goals and pick projects to improve general student proficiency in the region,” says Aaron Leifheit, facilitator with CHOLLA. “Being part of CHOLLA

means that you’re going to follow certain standards and have best practices in place and safety procedures in place to ensure that the kids are going to have a good, safe experience.”

Rather than limiting science education to the classroom, teachers have an opportunity to bring their students outdoors where they can see it in action. In addition to field trips, the school district is also taking STEM learning outdoors, thanks to more than 130 school gardens and gardening clubs that can be found throughout the district.

“If you want to teach someone sports, you don’t keep them in a classroom and show them videos of the NBA and say ‘Okay, now you’re good at sports,’” says Leifheit. “So we shouldn’t do the same thing with science, either.” It’s an idea that students, teachers and parents are cheering for.

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702-553-0744

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Learn, grow and play with this events & resource guide

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AMUSEMENTS

Adventure Canyon Log Flume

This adventure log ride takes thrill-seekers through a darkened tunnel, into swirling rapids, then up a mountain and into another eerie passage before descending down a 50-foot, drenching drop-off. $8, unlimited ride passes $12-$22. Buffalo Bill’s, 31700 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Primm, 702-386-7867; primmvalleyresorts.com

The Adventuredome

America’s largest indoor theme park at 5 acres offers visitors both thrill and traditional carnival rides that include two coasters, eight premium, two large, three junior and four family rides. And it keeps the fun going with seven featured attractions where guests can enjoy rock climbing, bungee jumping, miniature golf, midway and video arcade games, clown shows, bowling or navigating a maze of lasers. $6-$12 per ride, all-day passes $17.95-$31.95. Circus Circus hotel-casino, 2880 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, 702-794-3939; adventuredome.com

All Family Fun Center

A 3-D mini-golf, laser tag and arcade complete with an 18-hole indoor course that takes guests on a journey to new places and back in time to old favorites. Featuring glow-painted walls, black lights and high-energy music, the 2,000-square-foot laser tag arena can accommodate up to 10 players at a time. The arcade features numerous redemption prize games, as well as driving skills and shooting combat games. $3-$30; $24.99 unlimited play.

3315 E. Russell Road #4K, Las Vegas, 702-608-4653; allfamilyfuncenter.com

The Big Apple Coaster & Arcade

Experience the thrill of racing 67 mph on the world’s first roller coaster to feature a adrenaline-rushing 180-degree twist and dive, and afterward, spend some time playing a number of video and arcade games. $14 individual, $25 all-day Scream Pass, $60 Family Fun Flight for Four, specials for Las Vegas residents. New York-New York, 3790 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas; 702740-6969; newyorknewyork.com

The Desparado

Climbing more than 200 feet, riders can see the entire valley from The Desperado,

one of the country’s tallest and fastest roller coasters, which plunges downward at breath-taking velocities before heading into a number of thrilling twists and turns. $12.99, unlimited ride passes $15-$22. Buffalo Bill’s, 31700 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Primm, 702-386-7867; primmvalleyresorts.com

Dig This Heavy Equipment Playground

Families will have loads of fun when they get behind the controls of either a fully climate-controlled massive Caterpillar bulldozer or excavator and begin to build dirt mounds, push gigantic tires, dig huge trenches, play “bucket basketball” and more.

For guests’ safety, they must complete a breathalyzer, safety procedures and in-cab orientations, and warm-up exercises before digging in! $169-$249. 3012 S. Rancho Drive, Las Vegas, 702-222-4344; digthisvegas.com

Fast Lap Indoor Kart Racing

Whether using karting to develop your driving skills, as a prelude to other series or you want to satisfy your need for speed, Fast Lap provides an exhilarating real race experience. Vegas’ first and only indoor kart track with gas-powered karts, the karts are equipped with Honda 200cc engines that can reach speeds up to 50 mph on a race course designed by two former IKF racers. $26-$75. 4288 Polaris Ave., Las Vegas, 702-736-8113; fastlaplv.com

Game Over Arcade Buffalo Bill’s

Features action-packed video fun — from testing your driving skills at top speeds, to challenging your martial arts techniques — and pinball games. 31700 Las Vegas Blvd.

S., Primm, 702-386-7867; primmvalley resorts.com

GameWorks

This family-friendly fun destination features gastropub-style American cuisine, an outdoor patio for al fresco dining and a 8,700-square-foot arcade game floor containing classic and modern arcade attractions, including an eight-lane bowling alley, two pool tables, 30 TVs playing all your favorite sports and the flagship eGaming Arena complete with 60 computers that are designated for multiplayer online video gaming. $5-$52. Las Vegas Town Square, 6587 Las Vegas Blvd. S., #171, Las Vegas, 702-978-4263; gameworks.com

High Roller Observation Wheel

Situated parallel to Las Vegas Boulevard and facing north to south, this 520-foot-diameter wheel takes 30 minutes to make one full revolution, allowing riders to take in views of bird’s-eye views of the Strip and the valley from 28 glass-enclosed cabins. $16.95-$79. The LINQ Promenade, 3545 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, 800-6346441; caesars.com/linq/high-roller

King Putt Entertainment Center

Boasting more animations, pneumatics and interactive props than any other mini-golf course, this indoor Egyptian-themed black light course is unique and challenging. Also featured at the center is a laser tag arena where guests can explore multiple levels of an Egyptian pyramid with sophisticated laser tag equipment, an arcade and a pizzeria. $5-$17. 27 S. Stephanie St., Henderson, 702-541-6807; kingputtlv.com

King Putt Indoor Mini-Golf

This 18-hole indoor mini-golf course takes visitors through a winding black-lit jungle of exotic animals, then submerges them into an underwater world. An arcade with air hockey, driving games and prize-earning games are also on-site. $5-$9 per person per round. 7230 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Las Vegas, 702-823-1519; kingputtlv.com

KISS by Monster Mini Golf The Rio,

Play miniature golf under black lights in this indoor KISS-themed glow-in-the-dark course featuring 18 holes surrounded by animatronic figures, exaggerated replicas and hit music of the iconic band, as well as a huge Gene Simmons head sculpture complete with outstretched tongue. The facility also offers a live DJ, contests and prizes, arcade games, gift shop, special event room and first-of-its-kind wedding chapel. $9.95-$11.95. 3700 W. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, 702-558-6256; monsterminigolf.com/kiss

Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix

At a total of 7 acres, the Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix provides a variety of family amusements.

Having the longest go-cart track in Nevada, it offers rides for all ages, including four go-cart tracks with 80 carts. Also featured are four amusement rides, arcade games

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THE GUIDE and a 600-seat restaurant serving pizza, chicken fingers, a wide range of coffees and more. $7.50-$23. 1401 N. Rainbow Blvd., Las Vegas, 702-259-7000; lvmgp.com

Maxflight Cyber Coaster

A virtual ride that takes you on your choice of roller coasters from around the world. $5.99 -$22. Buffalo Bill’s, 31700 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Primm, 702-386-7867; primmvalleyresorts.com

Pinball Hall of Fame

At 10,000 square feet and exhibiting the world’s largest pinball collection, this dedicated museum features wall-to-wall popular pinball machines from the 1950s through the 1990s that have been restored to like-new condition, as well as a few retro arcade games like Super Mario Brothers.

But the best part is, visitors can play all the machines for 25 or 50 cents each, and since the PHoF is nonprofit, all excess revenue goes to nondenominational charities, such as The Salvation Army of Las Vegas.

1610 E. Tropicana Ave., Las Vegas, 702-597-2627; pinballmuseum.org

Pole Position Raceway Indoor Karting

Pole Position features 1/4-mile track, high-performance electric European carts for adults that can get up to 45 mph and side-by-side racing action. Also available are junior carts that get up to 25 mph for kids who are at least 48 inches tall. Several indoor racing options are offered, including the popular Arrive & Drive that allows walk-in customers to race on a first-come, first-served basis. Or sign up for one of the raceway’s public events. $5.95-$25.50. 4175 S. Arville St., 702-227-7223; poleposition raceway.com/las-vegas

SlotZilla Zip Line

This Fremont Street Experience thrill attraction is a 12-story zip line offering two ways to fly because it has a lower Zipline and an upper Zoomline. The Zipline starts at 77 feet up, and flyers land halfway down the FSE pedestrian promenade, while the Zoomline takes off 114 feet in the air, speeding flyers at up to 40 mph in a prone position 1,750 feet downward to a landing platform at the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino. $25-$45. 425 Fremont St. #160, Las Vegas, 702-678-5780; vegasexperience. com/slotzilla-zip-line

Stratosphere Thrill Rides

Big Shot blasts riders straight up 160 feet into the air, then sends them free-falling with some incredible G-force back to the launchpad. Insanity’s giant mechanical arm holds riders up 900 feet in the air and spins them 64 feet over the Tower edge, giving them an amazing view of the Strip. Sky Jump holds the Guinness World Record for having the highest controlled descent

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with guests free-falling at speeds up to 40 mph as they leap off the Observation Tower from 829 feet up. X-Scream catapults riders headfirst 27 feet over the Tower edge, allowing them to dangle weightlessly 109 stories up in the air, before being snapped back to the Tower and propelled over again. $25-$119.95. 2000 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, 702-380-7777 (Sky Jump), 702383-5210 (Big Shot, Insanity, X-Scream); stratospherehotel.com

Vegas Indoor Skydiving

America’s first indoor skydiving facility, complete with a vertical wind tunnel, mesh trampoline floor and foam-padded walls, here guests can experience body flight and the free-fall sensation during a simulated skydiving session. All participants attend a brief training class before suiting up for their flight. $50-$1,000. 200 Convention Center Drive, Las Vegas, 702-731-4768; vegasindoorskydiving.com

VooDoo Zipline Rio

Taking off from atop the Rio’s 50-story Masquerade Tower and sending guests higher than 500 feet in the air at exhilarating speeds of up to 33 mph, this zip line accommodates up to two riders at a time. On the return trip, guests ride 800 feet back to the starting point, facing backward. Free shuttle bus service for more than six riders. $27.49.

3700 W. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, 702-388-0477; voodoozipline.com

functions of the human body, including the circulatory, digestive, muscular, nervous and respiratory systems. $24-$32. Luxor, 3900 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, 702-492-3960; luxor.com/entertainment/bodies.aspx

Clark County Museum

Located on this 30-acre site is a unique collection of historic homes that re-creates the daily lifestyle of the decade in which each was built, the Ghost Town and Mining Trail, and a contemporary pueblo-style exhibit hall that presents a timeline of Southern Nevada from prehistoric to modern times. The exhibit hall also features changing art and artifacts, as well as special-themed displays. $1-$2. 1830 S. Boulder Highway, Henderson, 702-455-7955; clarkcountynv.gov/depts/parks/pages/ clark-county-museum.aspx

The Discovery Children’s Museum

This nonprofit museum inspires kids to want to learn and consists of ongoing hands-on exhibits that feature interactive science, sliding and climbing structures, creative play, green living, design and engineering challenges, role-playing and problem-solving, a sensory area, educational water play, the art of investigation, and the elements of art and health education. Also on display is a traveling featured exhibit. $14.50. 360 Promenade Place, 702-3823445; discoverykidslv.org

Hoover Dam ART/CULTURE/EDUCATION

Barrick Museum

The museum’s goal is to provide an engaging space consisting of works of art and cultural objects that represent past and present cultures, as well as artistic creativity, that can be experienced directly by guests in an effort to promote the understanding of art as an enduring human endeavor. $2$5. University of Nevada, Las Vegas Campus, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, 702-895-3381; unlv.edu/barrickmuseum

Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art

This fine art gallery features rotating world-class art and objects exhibitions that include paintings, sculptures, ceramics and more created by renowned artists ranging from Picasso to Warhol. The artworks showcased are drawn from prestigious internationally known museums and private collections. An audio tour of the gallery is included in the price of admission. $10-$14.

Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, 702-693-7871; bellagio.com/attract ions/gallery-of-fine-art.aspx

Bodies ... The Exhibition

Viewed around the world by more than 15 million people, this one-of-a-kind exhibit features nine rooms, each dedicated to different

Drawing more than a million visitors annually, the Hoover Dam is considered one of the 20th century’s top 10 construction projects. Construction on the dam began in 1930, and today the one-hour guided Hoover Dam Tour provides a unique way to see, learn and appreciate this immense undertaking. The tour includes visitor access through to the power plant and tunnel passageways within the dam where guests will learn about the complexities of the construction of the dam. Free-$30.

30 miles southeast of Las Vegas on U.S. Highway 93 to Nevada State route 172, Nevada-Arizona border, 702-494-2517; usbr. gov/lc/hooverdam/index.html

Las Vegas Natural History Museum

With 10 permanent interactive exhibits as well as traveling exhibits and a young scientist center with computers and microscopes, this private nonprofit institution is dedicated to educating the community in the natural sciences, such as wildlife, ecosystems and various cultures. Permanent exhibits include dinosaurs, Egyptian treasures, prehistoric mammals, African savanna and rainforest prehistoric primates, Mojave Desert plants and animals, marine life and terrestrial animals, and geological natural resources and minerals. Free-$10.

900 Las Vegas Blvd. N., Las Vegas, 702384-3466; lvnhm.org

Missoula Children’s Theatre Presents “Peter and Wendy”

Kids in K–12 can star in a classic story about the adventures of Peter Pan and Wendy Darling. Registration: July 18, 3-4 p.m., with auditions from 4-6 p.m. Rehearsals: July 18–22, 4-8 p.m. Performances: July 23, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.; $5 child/senior; $8 adult; tickets available at the rehearsal site beginning July 20. Henderson Convention Center, 200 S. Water St., Henderson, 702267-4050; cityofhenderson.com

Whoever dreamed up this candy-colored alternate universe knew what they were doing.

The Mob Museum

The 41,000-square-foot, world-class, interactive museum presents an authentic view of organized crime and the impact it’s had on the world throughout American history.

Real stories come to life in engaging, multisensory displays, and eye-opening insights are gained through an insider’s look at Mob-related individuals and events, as well as hundreds of artifacts. $13.95-$19.95. 300 Stewart Ave., Las Vegas, 702-229-2734; themobmuseum.org

There’s no other place like it.

Anywhere.

Well, not on this planet anyway.

Come feel the glow.

National Atomic Testing Museum

The National Atomic Testing Museum features one of the most comprehensive collections of nuclear history that includes a wide variety of materials and more than 12,000 unique artifacts relating to atomic testing, the Nevada Test Site, the Cold War, and nuclear and radiological science and technology. The current display includes thousands of rare photographs, videos, artifacts, scientific and nuclear reports and data, and one-of-a-kind scientist collections, as well as the “Area 51— Myth or Reality” exhibit. $18-$65. 755 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, 702-794-5151; nationalatomictestingmuseum.org

BOOK A TOUR NeonMuseum.org

The Neon Museum

Dedicated to preserving the city’s most iconic art form, the museum’s outdoor Boneyard is home to more than 200 of Las Vegas’ most treasured and world-famous signs from Caesars Palace, Binion’s Horseshoe, Golden Nugget and the Stardust. Also part of this 2-acre campus is the adjacent Neon Boneyard Park and the Neon Boneyard North Gallery, which contains about 60 additional signs from the Palms, New York-New York, Lady Luck and O’Shea’s. $12-$18. 7700 Las Vegas Blvd. N., Las Vegas, 702-387-6366; neonmuseum.org

Nevada Southern Railway

Climb aboard your choice of an authentic open-air car or air-conditioned/heated Pullman coach for a 3.5-mile train ride and learn about the history of the railway dating back to the 1930s, when Union Pacific Railroad constructed the Boulder Branch Line to bring supplies to the Hoover Dam project. $7-$10. 601 Yucca St., Boulder City, 702-486-5933; nevadasouthern.com

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Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas

Focusing on the prehistory, history and natural history of Nevada, this two-level, 70,000-square-foot museum features a 13,000-square-foot permanent exhibit gallery that informs visitors about the state’s geology, early flora and fauna, Native Americans and first settlers, mining and railroad histories, the Hoover Dam, the atomic era and more. $9.95-$19.95. Inside Springs Preserve, 309 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, 702-486-5205; springspre serve.org/attractions/nsm.html

The Planetarium College of Southern Nevada

Southern Nevada’s only public planetarium presents programs to the public and local schools, utilizing a high-definition hemispheric video projection that creates virtual realities on a domed screen above the audience. As an added bonus, after the 8 o’clock showing, the telescopes at the Student Observatory are open for viewing when the weather is clear. $4-$6. 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., North Las Vegas, 702-6514138; csn.edu/planetarium

Shark Tank Tours

Take an interesting behind-the-scenes tour led by staff marine biologists who show you the inner workings of the hotel’s 200,000 gallon shark aquarium, including what they eat and how the feeding process takes place. And, you get to take home a souvenir shark tooth in memory of your visit. $40. Golden Nugget, 129 E. Fremont St., Las Vegas, 866-946-5336; goldennugget.com

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition

Travel back in time at this 25,000-squarefoot exhibit and experience the wonder, magnificence and tragedy of the world’s most famous ocean liner, including 250 authentic recovered artifacts from the wreck site and re-creations of some of the most popular rooms of the ship. $24-$30.

Luxor, 3900 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, 702-262-4400; luxor.com

2016 Presidential Debate-Themed Educational Initiatives

UNLV, CCSD, and LVCVA are partnering to provide hands-on educational opportunities for local K–12 and college students.

Through election-themed school activities focusing on American history and government, political and policy debate, the election process, voter education and other related issues, these groups hope to raise awareness and learning leading up to the final 2016 presidential debate, which is being held, Oct. 19, on UNLV’s campus. UNLV campus, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, 702-895-3011; unlv. edu/2016debate

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ENTERTAINMENT/ATTRACTIONS

Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

Guests can leisurely stroll through and take in the enticing sights and smells that fill the conservatory’s seasonally themed gardens, which are made up of beautiful, captivating displays of plants, flowers, trees, water features and more. The gardens present changing themes that reflect the holidays, seasons and Chinese New Year and are meticulously maintained by 140 expert horticulturists. Through Sept. 10: “Under the Sea,” free. Bellagio hotel-casino, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, 702-6937111; bellagio.com

Dolphin Habitat

This 2.5-million-gallon habitat containing four connected pools and an artificial coral reef system is home to a family of Atlantic bottle-nose dolphins. Both an educational and research facility, visitors can observe these magnificent creatures in a naturalistic environment above and below ground and participate in two special programs — Painting With the Dolphins and Trainer for a Day. $17-$42. The Mirage hotel-casino, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, 702791-7188; miragehabitat.com

Ethel M Chocolate Factory & Cactus Garden

Not only can visitors take a self-guided Ethel M factory tour, learn about making chocolates and get a free taste sample, they can step outside the factory and explore the Botanical Cactus Garden, touted as Nevada’s largest and one of the world’s largest collections of its kind. Free.

2 Cactus Garden Drive, Henderson, 702435-2608; ethelm.com

Outdoor Movie Nights

Enjoy PG and PG-13 movies under the stars on the green in back of Whole Foods.

Aug. 20-Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m. Sat. (weather permitting), free. Aug. 20: Zootopia; Aug. 27: Minions; Sept. 3: Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Sept. 10: Dirty Dancing; Sept. 17: Inside Out; Sept. 24: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The District at Green Valley Ranch, 2225 Village Walk Drive, 702-564-8595; shopthedistrictgvr.com

Regal Summer Movie Express

Enjoy great movies this summer for only a buck. Through Aug. 10, 10 a.m. Tue. and Wed., $1. Both movies are shown both days each week. July 12-13: Minions, The Peanuts Movies; July 19-20: Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Road Chip, Curious George; July 26-27: The Book of Life, Hotel Transylvania 2; Aug. 2-3: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Shaun the Sheep; Aug. 9-10: The Croods, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. Regal Colonnade, 8880 S. Eastern Ave., Henderson; Regal Village Square, 9400 W. Sahara Ave., Las Vegas; Regal Aliante, 7300 N. Aliante

Parkway, North Las Vegas; Regal Texas Station, 2101 Texas Star Lane, North Las Vegas, 844-462-7342; regmovies.com

Summer Screen Movie Series

Bring your blanket or lawn chairs and enjoy complimentary family-friendly movies on Park Centre Drive next to H&M. Taking place before the showings are special character appearances, giveaways and prizes, and free USTA-hosted tennis clinics. A VIP section with chairs is available for guests who spend at least $20 at the center on the day of the movie. Through Aug. 25, 7-10 p.m. Thursdays (weather permitting), free. July 15: Kung Fu Panda 3; July 21: Cinderella; July 28: Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Aug. 4: Rio; Aug. 11: Zootopia; Aug. 18: Inside Out; Aug. 25: The Good Dinosaur. Downtown Summerlin, 1980 Festival Plaza Drive, Las Vegas, 702-331-2007; downtownsummerlin.com

PARENT RESOURCES

Baby’s Bounty

This nonprofit organization provides essential new and gently used infant clothing and gear, such as car seats, bottles, teethers and toys (new only), and baby carriers, receiving blankets, diaper bags, bath tubs, reclining strollers, bouncy seats and more, to babies born to victims of domestic abuse, teen mothers and low-income families. 840 Rancho Drive, #4-556, Las Vegas, 702-4852229; babysbounty.org

Best Buddies Nevada

Heightens confidence and social skills, and provides tools necessary for intellectually challenged individuals and those with developmental disabilities to become more independent and active in school and their community by creating opportunities for friendships through socialization programs, job coaching, and leadership development.

500 N. Rainbow Blvd. #314, Las Vegas; 702-822-2268; bestbuddiesnevada.org

Children’s Medical Assistance Inc.

A nonprofit organization dedicated to giving uninsured and underinsured children the opportunity to receive the same medical care as the more fortunate through community and professional partnerships, such as The Children’s Free Clinic of Southern Nevada. Other partnerships provide immunizations, children’s mental health services, free health school-based clinics for Clark County School District students and more. 1120 Village Center Circle #3411, Las Vegas, 702-823-4954; childrens medicalassistance.org

Family TIES of Nevada

Run by staff and board members who have a disability or chronic disease, or are the parents of children who do, this full-service,

nonprofit agency offers extensive resources internally and referrals externally, in addition to hosting events, conferences and workshops to provide advocacy services to help navigate public and private systems of care. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 6830 W. Oquendo Road #100, Las Vegas, 702-740-4200; familytiesnv.org

Head Start

This federal government-created and -funded program helps lower-income children up to 5 years of age and their families gain access to various social services and development programs, such as educational programs, free medical and dental care, and overall child development assistance.

Parents may be able to receive assistance through the program to gain long-term self-sufficiency in terms of finding a job or other social services. benefits.gov

HopeLink of Southern Nevada The mission of this Family Resource Centers program, which is funded by a grant from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, is “to build a better community by preventing homelessness, keeping families intact, and promoting self-sufficiency.” Since its beginnings, the organization has made such notable contributions as distributing school supplies, backpacks, clothing and books to schoolchildren; assisting families with rent and utilities; establishing a literacy program that is held in 12 at-risk elementary schools; providing food, bus passes and parenting and life skills classes, and parental resources; assistance with job searches and interviews. 178 Westminster Way, Henderson, 702-566-0576; link2hope.org

Nevada Department of Health and Human Services Welfare Southern Offices

Offers numerous agencies and family resources to assist with child support enforcement, child care and development, professional development, energy, food, financial and medical assistance to Nevada families, the disabled and elderly. dwss.nv.gov

The Nevada Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants & Children (WIC)

For more than 40 years, this federally funded short-term special supplemental nutrition program has been providing free nutritious foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and health and social services referrals to pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants and children younger than 5 years of age who are at nutrition risk and meet income eligibility requirements.800-8-NEV-WIC, nevadawic.org

Opportunity Village

Provides vocational training and work

experience; building of independence and self-esteem through partnerships with local businesses; community job placement; art and life skills enrichment; advocacy; and social recreational programs to those with intellectual disabilities. 6300 W. Oakey Blvd., Las Vegas, 702-259-3700

Parenting Project

Offers a series of free classes to help parents be more effective in raising their children through such programs as Triple P for parents of children ages 2-11 years with challenging behavior issues; BabyCare for expecting or new parents with children ages birth-6 months; Nurturing Parents & Families for parents of children aged 6 months-4 years; ABCs of Parenting for parents of children aged 5-10 years; Staying Connected for parents and youth 11-17 years; and Teen Triple P for parents of teens 11-17 years. 3900 Cambridge St., #203, Las Vegas, 702-4555295; clarkcountynv.gov/family-services

The Public Education Foundation

The Public Education Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization that addresses the toughest challenges facing schools by championing educational strategies that foster innovation, promote excellence and produce results. Programs include Clark County READS, which offers a variety of literacy programs to children and families in Clark County to empower educators and students, while improving student attitudes toward reading; higher education scholarships; We R Community service-learning and volunteerism project for teens; Artists 4 Kidz; and Project Smile, which provides high-need children with dental health treatment and prevention services. 4350 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, 702-799-1042; thepef.org

The Ronald McDonald House of Greater Las Vegas

Creates and supports programs that directly improve the health, education and well-being of children in the community. Provides temporary housing, transportation and support to families, while their children receive critical medical treatment. 2323 Potosi St., Las Vegas, 702-252-4663; rmhlv.com

Safe Kids, The District at Green Valley Ranch

Hosted by Safe Kids Clark County and Sunrise Children’s Hospital, Trauma Services monthly car seat checks are conducted in the parking lot behind REI by nationally certified child passenger safety technicians who can help to ensure your child’s car seat is properly installed. 2225 Village Walk Drive, 702-5648595; shopthedistrictgvr.com

Social Services Department, Clark County

Provides a variety of assistance services and aid — emergency crisis and financial,

medical, child care, protective services for seniors, help with rent and utility bills, food, transportation, debt and foreclosure, legal aid, cremation and burial and more — for needy residents of Clark County and Las Vegas who aren’t assisted by other federal, state or local government assistance programs. 702-455-4270; clarkcountynv.gov

Southern Nevada Health District Immunization Program

The SNHD provides adolescent, back-toschool, flu, immunizations and travel vaccine clinics. For children younger than 18 years of age, written consent must be provided to the health district from a parent or legal guardian at the time of service. 702-7590850; southernnevadahealthdistrict.org

Spread the Word Nevada

Serving children in at-risk, low-income Southern Nevada communities by advancing early childhood literacy through book drives and distributions, one-on-one mentoring, storytelling events, summer reading programs, and a family literacy program. 1065 American Pacific Drive #160, Henderson, 702-564-7809; spreadthewordnevada.org

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children

Transforms the lives of abused, neglected and at-risk children and young adults up to 25 years of age, and helps families to create new chances, choices and hope by empowering them through residential foster care; pregnant and parenting teens program; transitional living, housing and homeless services for 18- to 25-year-olds; therapeutic programs; job-training; child-focused sibling preservation; emergency placement; and USDA child-nutrition programs. 100 St. Jude’s St., Boulder City, 702-294-7152, stjudesranch.org

Strong Start for Children

A community outreach campaign supported by many state and national partners that’s aimed at mobilizing parents to make quality early childhood education a priority in the state. It identifies and finds quality child care, helps pay for child care through child care subsidies; Head Start and Early Start; and the Nevada state-funded Pre-Kindergarten Program, provides parenting tips and resources, and community resources such as Alert ID, Child Protective Services, Nevada 211, Nevada Check Up, State of Nevada Welfare Division, Child Care Aware, HealthyChildren.org, PBS Parents, Zero to Three, Too Small to Fall and more. strongstartnevada.org

The Shade Tree

A Las Vegas based shelter providing a safe haven for homeless and abused women, children and pets in crisis, and offering life-changing services promoting stability, dignity and self-reliance. Programs and services include day, emergency and transitional shelter programs; a Survivor’s

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Service Center that assists victims of domestic violence, sexual assault/abuse, street crime and elder abuse, and more. 1 W. Owens Ave. (at Main Street), North Las Vegas, 702-385-0072; theshadetree.org

Ultimate Summer Camp at Alexander Dawson School

The Alexander Dawson School, in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada, runs an affordable pay-as-yougo summer camp program. Open to the public, the camp utilizes more than 15,000 square feet of indoor space, including the gymnasium, a large game room, cultural arts center, acting lab, science center and dining hall, as well as multiple outdoor fields and playgrounds. 10845 W. Desert Inn Road, Las Vegas, 702-367-2582; bgch events.org/dawsonschool/home

SPORTS/RECREATION

Black Mountain Recreation Center/Aquatic Complex

Offering a wide selection of programming and special events, this 41,000-squarefoot center is designed for all ages. It features a fitness center, gymnasium, indoor cycling area, racquetball and wallyball courts, tennis courts, an adjacent seasonal aquatic complex with an outdoor pool, Kids Corner, game room, classes and meeting rooms, a multiuse room and a covered patio. The aquatic complex offers interactive water apparatus and a raindrop waterfall and three-loop slide. 599 Greenway Road, 702-267-4070, Henderson; cityofhenderson.com

Cowabunga Bay Water Park

Offering eight one-of-a-kind water slides, including Wild Surf that features the world’s largest man-made wave and the new Beach Blanket Banzai that carries raft-riders to a height of 60 feet where they are let loose to race more than 600 feet through 180-degree turns, sidewinding S-curves, dips and drops at thrilling speeds; beaches, pools, bays and rivers; and an area just for the kiddies. $9.99-$116.50. 900 Galleria Drive, Henderson, 702-850-9000; cowabungabay.com

Desert Breeze Aquatic Facility The facility features an indoor pool with lap swim and family swim hours, as well as a seasonal outdoor water park that provides a shallow water beach entry, play structure and two water slides designed for those 48 inches and taller. 8275 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas, 702-455-7798

Fit4Mom Stroller Strides Classes

A stroller-based fitness program for moms and their babies, Stroller Strides classes

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offer moms a total body workout while their babies are engaged in songs and activities in their strollers. The program features hourlong classes led by certified fitness instructors that include a five minute warm-up, 45 minutes of power walking with intervals of strength and body toning exercises using tubing, the stroller and the environment. various locations; lasvegas. fit4mom.com

Silver Nugget Bowling Center

Helen Meyer Community Center

SkyView Multi-Generational Center

This center’s amenities include ball fields, tennis courts, a recreation center, fitness course, walking course, playground, spray pool and picnic areas. The center also offers a variety of classes and events, including a 10-week Kindergarten Prep session, a 10-week Preschool Prep session and an open recreation program. 4525 New Forest Drive, 702-455-7723

Henderson Multigenerational Center/Aquatic Complex

This 84,120-square-foot center features an aquatic complex, including indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center, walking-jogging track, dance and aerobics rooms, indoor cycling area, indoor mulitsport area with basketball court, rock climbing wall, Kids Corner, an art gallery, teaching kitchen, adult lounge with reading area and kitchenette and a game room. 250 S. Green Valley Parkway, Henderson, 702-267-5800

Las Vegas Ice Center

This ice rink provides public skate sessions, skating lessons, figure skating, youth and adult hockey leagues, camps and clinics, a weight room, an ice shooting room and training room, full-service pro shop, and rental skates child size 8-men’s 14. 9295 W. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, 702-320-7777; lasvegasice.com

Red Rock Riding Stables

Riders will experience breathtaking scenery and an abundance of native desert plants and animals during their choice of one, one-and-a-half- or two-hour guided trail rides. Pony rides, horseback weddings and horse boarding are also available. $60$155. Bonnie Springs Ranch, 6395 Bonnie Springs Road, Las Vegas, 702-875-4191; bonniesprings.com

Silver Mesa Recreation Center & Pool

This 5-acre rec center provides numerous leisure activities, educational opportunities and athletic outlets, including a fully equipped fitness facility with free weights, circuit and cardiovascular machines, exercise classes, a gymnasium, swimming pool with water slide and mushroom shower and shaded picnic areas. 4025 Allen Lane, North Las Vegas, 702-633-2550

If you’re looking for family fun on a budget, this 24-lane AMF bowling facility features $1 games, automatic scoring, cosmic bowling on Fridays and Saturdays, an arcade and air hockey tables, a snack bar and pro shop. Inside Silver Nugget Casino, 2140 Las Vegas Blvd. N., North Las Vegas, 702-399-1111; luckysilvergaming.com/bowl ingparties

This state-of-the-art community center accommodates all ages and fitness levels.

It offers a heated indoor lap pool with spacious deck and lesson area; wellness center that houses cardio equipment, circuit machines and dumbbells; cycling studio; aerobics and yoga studio; fully equipped locker rooms with showers; kids’ gym; lounge areas with free Wi-Fi; multipurpose rooms for public use; and games such as Xbox, Kinect, air hockey, billiards and foosball. 3050 E. Centennial Parkway, North Las Vegas, 702-522-7500

Whitney Ranch Recreation Center and Aquatic Complex

The 41,000-square-foot center includes a fitness center, dance and aerobics room, gymnasium, courts for racquetball and wallyball, a Kids Corner, game room, classrooms and meeting rooms and a conference room. The aquatic complex offers two pools: an outdoor activity pool featuring 25-yard competition lanes, a shallow training area and water play features. 575 Galleria Drive, Henderson, 702-267-5860

Walnut Recreation Center

This northwest rec center features a water park; fitness center; numerous recreation and education classes, such as dance and cheer, early childhood for kids and their parents, exercise and fitness, martial arts and sports; computer lab; game room; day camps; community service program; free supervised open recreation program for ages 6-17; and party room. The facility also serves the community through several programs like Nurturing Parents and Families; ABCs of Parenting; Parent/Teen Solutions; and more. 3075 N. Walnut Road, Las Vegas, 702-455-8402

Wet ’n’ Wild

This 33.5-acre water-themed amusement park offers more than 25 adrenaline-pumping water slides, but for those who desire a milder form of excitement, it also features a winding river, interactive fun zones, nine slides and a wave pool. Amenities include shower and changing facilities, lockers, cabana rentals and tube rentals. Dive ’n’ Movie program offers a unique outdoor movie-viewing experience shortly after sundown every other Friday. $9.99-$39.99.

7055 S. Fort Apache Road, Las Vegas, 702-979-1600; wetnwildlasvegas.com

CELEBRATIONS HERE

CREATE MEMORIES FOR A LIFETIME, EXPERIENCE YOUR BIRTHDAY WITH US! DISCOVERY Children’s Museum is the perfect setting for a fun and memorable birthday for your child. That’s because we make sure every birthday includes fun-filled, unforgettable experiences. Best of all, you select your Birthday Experience preferences and we handle the rest.

Gift Registry Available at Discovery Store

For more information on BIRTHDAY EXPERIENCES visit DiscoveryKidsLV.org or call 702.382.3445.