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Youth Shakespeare

Many kid actors to stage "The Tempest"

William Shakespeare's classic play, "The Tempest," has a plot with lots of twists and turns. But, getting ready for the April staging of the play by St. Louis area kids might be more complicated.

Drama students from 10 different school groups are all working separately on staging different scenes from the play. Then, on Friday and Saturday, April 1-2, the separate casts come together to perform a combined version of the play on one stage.

Thirteen-year-old Sarah Toland is student director of the two scenes that Carr-Lane VPA Middle School has in the play. She's helping drama teachers Troy Schneider and Allen Moore rehearse their cast for separate scenes from Act 3 and Act 4.

Sarah is a 7th grader at Carr Lane. One of her jobs as student director is to learn the lines of all Carr-Lane actors so she can prompt actors if any forget lines on performance night.

But, she's just one of the student directors at work. Each school group has its own director for its own rehearsals, costumes and stage sets.

Carr-Lane's cast added some additional complexity. For instance, the role of hero-villain Prospero will be played by a different actor in the school's two scenes.

Twelve-year-old Shannon Durphy plays the duke-turned-wizard Prospero in one scene. Then, 11-year-old Jade Shamsmolkara will take that part in Carr-Lane's next scene.

Other school groups, besides Carr-Lane, taking part in staging "The Tempest" are:

Crossroads School, Central VPA High School, McCluer High School, Clayton High School, U-City High School, Harris-Stowe State College, Hazelwood East High School, Lafayette High School and the St. Louis Home School Network.

Public performances of the Shakespeare play will be in the Performing Arts Building on the campus of Harris-Stowe State College. There's a 7:30 p.m. performance on Friday, April 1, and then 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. performances on Saturday, April 2.

The staging of the play is a part of the educational outreach of the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis. For information about both the adult Shakespeare Festival and the Metro Youth Shakespeare play, visit www.sfstl.com.

At Carr-Lane, the "Tempest" cast has been rehearsing after school twice a week since the middle of February. About 15 kids will be in the cast during the school's two scenes.

Twelve-year-old Camron Ross plays the part of Ferdinand. He's one of the people lost at sea when magician Prospero causes King Alonso's ship to sink. The king and his party were on their way back to Naples, Italy.

Prospero stirs up a big storm-The Tempest-that sinks the ship. The king's party washes up on the island where Prospero lives in exile with his daughter, Miranda.

Ferdinand and Miranda provide the romantic interest when they fall in love.

But, King Alonso and Prospero are bitter enemies. It seems that Alonso helped another nobleman get rid of Prospero so the other could be named Duke of Milan.

See! I told you the plot was complicated.

But, in the end, everything turns out well. Enemies become friends and all return to Italy.

At Carr-Lane, 12-year-old Amanda Stanfill has been named student stage manager. She's helping keep track of costumes and helping with the actors' makeup.

Toland, Durphy, Stanfill, Ross and Shamsmolkara all hope to make careers in the entertainment business when they grow up.

Toland wants to be an actor in films. Durphy and Shamsmolkara want to be actors in musicals. Stanfill also wants to be a dramatic actress and "be in movies someday."

Ross said he would like to be an actor. He wants to be an "action comedian."

All the Carr-Lane kids have had previous acting experience. Toland acted last year at Carr-Lane in a "movement performance." The play was titled "Carnival of the Animals." There were no spoken lines.

Sarah said the kids used movements and expressions as "our versions of what wildlife would be like if they were human," she said. "I was a donkey and used facial expressions to show that I was like a kid passing gossip along at school," she said.

Durphy said one of her favorite parts was when she and another girl performed the famous "Who's on First" sports dialogue by old-time comedians Abbott and Costello.

"My grandfather had a tape of the radio skit and I listened to it. That's a lot of lines to memorize," she said.

Stanfill said she started acting in kindergarten. "I'll be in over 10 plays," she said.

Ross said he's performed in Black History plays at the Black Rep Theater. Shamsmolkara said, in 4th grade, she played the Indian Sacagawea in a Lewis & Clark play.

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Sports

Speedskating competition for kids here

Nick and Beth Gier and Johnny Frohlichstein are three kids entered in the Silver Skates regional speedskating meet here the first week in March. The local meet comes just a week after the three participated in speedskating nationals in Milwaukee.

Thirteen-year-old Nick and 11-year-old Beth both participated in the speedskating nationals for the second time at the end of February. Nick competed two years ago while Beth was in the nationals last year.

Ten-year-old Johnny also competed in his second nationals this year.

This year's Silver Skates meet is sponsored by the Missouri Speedskating Assn.

Kids' ice hockey has a higher skating profile in St. Louis. But, speedskating has been around for a long time.

This year's Silver Skates meet marks the 79th year of competition. That meet dates back to when races were held outdoors on Grand Basin below Art Hill in Forest Park.

(For the Silver Skates meet schedule and details, visit www.gatewayspeedskating.org.)

Nick, Beth and Johnny got an early start on learning to speed skate. All said they were four when their parents first got them on skates.

All three of them are now regular competitors in short-track tournaments. That's the sport that got a lot of publicity in the past Winter Olympics because of the popularity of the champion American skater Apollo Ono.

The short track distance is 111 meters per lap. One of the reasons for short-track races is that long-distance speedskating require rinks that accommodate 400-meter laps.

The closest rink with those dimensions is in Milwaukee, where this year's speedskating nationals were held.

Beth did very well in last year's nationals, earning 2nd place in her Pony division.

She said that 2nd place finish was her best speedskating experience.

But, she also lists the 2004 nationals as her worst skating experience. "If I hadn't fallen just before the finish of the race, I would have tied for first," she said.

She started competing in speedskating when she was five. That was after a year of falling down and getting up a lot. She said, "In the beginning, I fell down more times than I could count."

Her first race at age 5 was a half-lap or 55-meter race. Most of her short-track races now are 11 laps. Each heat includes from four to six racers.

Her brother, Nick, competed in the nationals for the first time in 2003. He didn't finish in the top echelon of skaters. But, he said, "I did establish some personal bests."

Nick counts his worst skating experiences as times when "I fall down and hit the wall hard." However, he said he's never broken any bones or suffered any serious injuries.

Johnny Frohlichstein said his best skating experience was "when I won the state championship two years in a row." He was competing in the Pony division.

He lists two "worst" experiences:

One was "when I fell four times in one race," he said. But, he blames his mother for that. "She didn't 'de-burr' my skates," he said.

The other "worst" was being disqualified twice in one meet. Once was for "cross-tracking" and the other for "off-tracking," he said. Because of the crowded conditions in short-track, the skaters have to abide by rules to keep serious pileups to a minimum.

The Gier siblings and Johnny Frohlichstein all started skating at Kirkwood ice rink. They still practice there but the rink has undergone some big improvements.

When the kids started skating, the rink was covered only with a roof. There were no sidewalls so the weather played a big part in their skating.

When it was stormy, it got very cold. But, when the weather was warm, the ice didn't stay hard.

Now, the rink is enclosed and it can be kept at "just right" temperatures. Also, there's a Zamboni machine to dress ice to keep its quality high.

Nick and Beth live in Sunset Hills. He's a 7th grader at Saint Catherine Laboure School. Beth is a 5th grader there.

Johnny lives in Kirkwood and is a 5th grader at the Tillman Elementary School.

Nick and Beth's mom, Terry, is president of the Gateway Speedskating Assn. That group offers competition for skaters of all ages and skaters range in age from 4 to 56.

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Last year, Danny Schneider and Clint Schulte were members of the River City Junior Robots team in the First Lego League. This year, they're ready for the "big leagues."

The two teenagers from St. Paul, Mo., are ready to join the River City Robots team. The River City Robots will be one of 45 teams in the St. Louis regional First Robotics tournament March 10-12 in St. Charles.

First Lego League teams provide elementary and middle school kids with their first introduction to robot team competition. The First Robotics program involves kids 14 and up and the robots get bigger and competitions more difficult.

(For a look at our 2005 coverage of the First Lego League competition, click here.)

First Robotics teams do more than just build and program 130-pound robots.

For instance, in this year's meet, each team will make a 3D animated "commercial" promoting the team and entry.

The St. Louis regional meet will be held at the St. Charles Family Arena. For complete details, visit www.stlouisfirst.org.

Fourteen-year-old Danny Schneider said he enjoys designing robots and "then trying to figure out how its works." He said there's a lot of trial and error in robot building.

"First, you try it out. Then, if it doesn't work, you try something else," the 8th grader at St. Paul School said.

Thirteen-year-old Clint Schulte is also an 8th grader at St. Paul School. He also likes the "problem solving" aspects of robots.

"If there's a gear that's mixed up, you have to fix it. But, the problem could be mechanical, electrical or in the programming," he said. "You can't always tell what the problem is," he added.

Fourteen-year-old Aaron Heumphreus, of St. Peters, said he's a "member in training" for the River City Robots. But, he didn't take part in the First Lego League "minor leagues."

Rather, he previously has been like a "bat boy" for the River City Robots. His mother, LeAnn Heumphreus, is the president of the Robot organization. Aaron said that meant he was on the fringes of the team although he wasn't old enough to join.

He got a taste of robots last summer during a camp at Lake Superior State College in Michigan. His father, Paul, has been an electronics engineer for Boeing for 24 years.

He said he likes to build the "tetras" that are used in the competition. Those are 3-dimentional triangles that robots have to stack during the tournaments.

The younger kids will get some help in learning about robots from older kids like 17-year-old James Frasch of O'Fallon. The high school senior was a member of the River City Robots when it was first formed in 2003.

"I'm the only one left from that original team," he said.

He said he didn't participate in the First Lego League. But, he said, "I do have a Lego Inventor Kit at home and I've made some things with it," he said. Besides the Lego pieces, the kit includes a computer cube and motors, he said.

Frasch said he enjoys the animation part of the robot competition. He'll be working on the River City Robots' short "commercial" promoting the team.

Fifteen-year-old Katie Kullman of O'Fallon is another first-time member of the River City Robots. However, she said she likes robots and has watched previous competitions.

Asked about the attraction of robots, she said, "I like the competitiveness."

She said she'd like to be a "video game character" designer. She said she likes just about any kind of science, with one exception.

She doesn't like animal science, especially dissection experiments. "I always cry. I even cry when I walk past a meat case in the supermarket and see a rabbit for sale," she said.

Aaron Heumphreus is another team member who'd like to be a video game designer. Or, he said, "I'd like to be an engineer of some kind."

Danny Schneider said he hasn't got a definite career goal but it's likely to be in computers. "I like computers a lot," he added.

Clint Schulte said he's always liked engineering. "But, it that doesn't work, I can work for my dad," he added. Clint's father is a concrete contractor.

James Frasch also said he's likely to be an engineer. His favorite subjects in school are math and science. "You use a lot of geometry with the animation program," he said.

River City Robots members list Here is the complete membership list for the River City Robots team that will be competing in the First Robotics regional tournament this month: Joey Belsher, Washington HS James Frasch, home schooled Alex Havermann, Washington HS Robin Havermann, Washington HS Aaron Heumphreus, Fort Zumwalt South Middle, member-in-training Troy Heumphreus, Fort Zumwalt South HS Sara Kownacki, Fort Zumwalt Hope HS Katie Kullman, Fort Zumwalt North HS Ethan Mackey, Fort Zumwalt South HS Justin Mackey, Lewis and Clark Tech Tim Mahach, Fort Zumwalt North HS Brad McBurnett, Fort Zumwalt West HS Jonathan Nepper, Fort Zumwalt West HS Aaron Osburn, Washington HS Chas Palmer, Fort Zumwalt Hope HS Mike Scalera, Fort Zumwalt South HS Matt Sherry, Fort Zumwalt North HS Steven Story, Fort Zumwalt South HS Steven Woods, Fort Zumwalt North HS.

 

World's Fair

Class project becomes professional-grade game

When 7th grader Jennifer Flynn had to develop a class project based on the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, she really did it up right. She ended up with a professional-grade board game patterned after Monopoly.

And, it was done in just two weeks.

Twelve-year-old Jennifer is a student at Our Lady of Fatima School in north St. Louis County. But, her project assignment came from the Probe Gifted Program sponsored by the Ferguson-Florissant School District.

Every Tuesday, Jennifer gets released time to attend Probe classes. About 15 private school kids join with public school students in classes taught by Ann Clark.

Ms. Clark's 1904 World's Fair project assignment included lots of options. Among them were writing a fair diary, creating a fairgrounds map, painting a mural or develop a game. Jennifer decided to make a board game.

She said, "I like to play Monopoly so decided to do a game patterned after Monopoly."

For instance, the highest-priced property is called Festival Hall, instead of Boardwalk. The lowest-price ones are Creation and Cascade Fountain, instead of Baltic and Mediterranean.

Instead of adding houses, a player adds exhibits. And, the hotels became castles.

But, it was the quality of the game itself that impressed Teacher Clark. She was quoted in an article in the Independent News in Florissant as saying, "I'm just so impressed. She (Jennifer) put so much wonderful effort into it."

For Jennifer, probably the best reward was the $900 in "play money" she received. Instead of grades, Probe kids get "play money" they'll use to buy items at a year-ending auction.

Jennifer's $900 was the top award for the World's Fair project.

She said she doesn't know what she'll buy at the auction. "We won't know until the end of the semester what items Ms. Clark will have available," she said.

Jennifer's workmanship on the board game was outstanding.

First, she located pictures of the original World's Fair buildings and attractions on the Internet. She downloaded them into a Powerpoint device. She added names and prices before editing the picture-quality illustrations to fit in property spaces on the board.

Of course, there were Community Chest and Chance cards to be drawn when your game piece lands on those spaces. And, there's a Go to Jail space and cards also.

She mounted the game in a 30" by 40" frame, with metal edges and board backing.

After the game illustrations were in place, Jennifer put a clear sheet of plastic over the game and clamped down the metal edges.

"I wanted to keep from scratching the game when we were playing it," she said.

Asked if she had any plans to develop the game commercially, she said, "Oh, we couldn't do that on our own. We'd get in trouble with Parker Games that has the copyright to Monopoly."

Jennifer doesn't have to go very far for legal advice; her mother, Cindy, is a lawyer.

"But, we may call Parker Games to ask if they might want the idea," she said.

She did say that several of her relatives have asked if she'd make them a copy of her game for their families.

Jennifer said the original board development took her the entire two weeks Ms. Clark allotted for the project.

"But, making copies would be easier. We saved all the World's Fair illustrations in the Powerpoint," she said.

Jennifer is active in sports. She plays volleyball and softball. She's also on a swim team.

At school, she's a member of the chess club and is in her church's youth choir. She also played piano last month during an all-school talent show at Our Lady of Fatima.

Jennifer said her favorite classes are math, science and Spanish. "My dad is also teaching me some chemistry at home," she said. Father Ed Flynn is an engineer at Boeing.

Jennifer said she likes school but is a little sad this year. She won't finish 8th grade there because Our Lady of Fatima is being closed at year's end as enrollments drop.

"I've been here since kindergarten," she said.

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Earth Day

Americorps plans birdhouses, bike ride

The Americorps Trail Rangers are getting ready for Earth Day 2005. The young adults are making birdhouse kits and preparing a special Mississippi River bike route for Earth Day participants.

The 14-member Trail Rangers group is made up of young adults who help with community development projects in the City of St. Louis. With their work, they earn credits to help them further their education.

Many of their community projects deal with improving the environment. Thus, they're a natural to help with the annual Earth Day celebration.

Earth Day 2005 will be celebrated Sunday, May 1, in Forest Park. But, there are a number of Earth Day events earlier in April. For a complete schedule, go to: www.stlouisearthday.org.

Twenty-four-year-old Darrell Hill is one of the Americorps Trail Rangers. He'll be helping direct bike traffic along the 12-mile North Riverfront Trail. It's a paved trail that runs from downtown near The Arch north to the Chain of Rocks Bridge.

Maintaining the trail route is one of the Trail Rangers' year-around jobs.

One of the features of the bike route is the plantings of native Missouri plants. The plants give beauty to the riverfront trail.

Twenty-five-year-old Loyce Doss helps with the native plant nursery. The nursery specializes in encouraging growth of plant species that are native to Missouri.

Many of these plants have wiped out when farm corps or urban lawns were established. Many are thought to be "weeds," although they have beautiful blooms.

Another feature of the biking trail is an "underground railroad" site. African-Americans fleeing slavery had informal stopping-off places as they headed north to "free states."

Twenty-one-year-old Sherise Selvey does explanatory presentations for visitors at the "underground railroad" site.

One of the pre-Earth Day tasks for the Rangers is making of birdhouse kits. One kit is a completed--but unpainted-- birdhouse that kids can paint on Earth Day.

The other kit consists of pre-cut wooden pieces that kids can assemble on Earth Day.

Ranger supervisor Dennis Forrest said the Rangers plan to have 40 pre-assembled birdhouses and 25 loose-pieces kits. They will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis at the Rangers booth on Earth Day Sunday.

The Rangers also have another building project at their clubhouse in North City.

They were making "rabbit caps." Those are wooden and wire-mesh boxes that are put over the native plants when they are first transplanted. The small plants need protection because rabbits and other browsing animals like the tender shoots.

When baby plants are transplanted from the nursery to the riverfront bike trail, they are covered with "rabbit caps." The caps let sunlight and rain get to the plants but not rabbits.

Later, the "caps" can be removed because mature plants aren't nearly as tasty.

If you are interested in getting some native plants for around your homes, you can contact either Grace Hill Community Services or Dr. Rick Clinebell. The Grace Hill number is (314) 340-3207. Dr. Clinebell's number is (314) 772-9151.

Some of the types of native plants include Swamp Milkweed, Butterflyweed, Sky-blue Aster, Prairie Tickseed, Rough Blazing Star, Missouri Primrose, Prairie Phlox and Shell Penstemon.

Many of these plants have colorful blooms and are make good food plants in home butterfly gardens.

In his catalogue of native plants, Dr. Clinebell also provides instructions on how to establish a native plant garden in an urban setting.

Most Trail Rangers are working to earn education credits. The Rangers often work 40-hour weeks. When they accumulate 1,700 hours of service, they qualify for $4,725 in education credits.

Darrell is working on his high-school diploma through a GED. Loyce is enrolled at University of Missouri-St. Louis, where she is an English and education major. Sherise is a human resource management major at St. Louis University.

Sherise said she likes the opportunity to go into schools and arranging Ranger participation in events like Earth Day.

Loyce said she likes to help people. "The best reward is looking into the face of someone I've helped," she said.

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Books

This month's book reviews

Kids take part in the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1893
and help build a town

When the U.S. government opened up land in Oklahoma Territory for settlement, people were lined up to file claims for land. When the starting gun was fired, the race began to reach the best locations and be first to file a claim. People were on horseback, in wagons and buggies, and some rode on trains. The trains, however, could only run as fast as horses ran, so that no one had an unfair advantage.

Cissy Sissney and her family were on the crowded train and hoped to file a claim for land in the center of a town to be built and called Florence, Oklahoma. When the got there, there was only a sign. There were no houses or buildings of any kind. Until some construction could be done, people slept in tents or out in the open. The only food, tools, and clothes they had were what they carried with them on the train. It was hot and dusty. There was very little firewood. To cook and keep warm, they had to burn dried cow patties, left by the cattle herds that ranged through the territory.

Everybody staked off claims to what they hoped would be good spots in the center of the planned town. They made hand painted signs to show where a store was planned, or a barbershop, a bakery or a blacksmith shop, a printers, a bank, a school, a church. So, in the beginning you had to have a good imagination to believe that Florence would ever be a real town. Cissy's dad hoped to run the town's general store. Her mother couldn't imagine that the town would ever come about. She just wanted to move on.

The book describes a cast of characters, all of whom were poor but determined to create a town called Florence and to make a new life for themselves. Their biggest problem was that the owner of the railroad was angered by the townspeople. He vowed that his train would never stop in Florence. Without a train, the new town would be doomed to failure. What could the people of Florence do to get the railroad owner to change his mind?

The townspeople had a serious problem. But their story is filled with one hilarious event after another. "Stop the Train" is about as funny as a book can get.

 

A teen-aged boy investigates a report that his missing father was murdered

Jim Hawkins has had a hard time coping with the disappearance of his father two years earlier. He and his mother are barely coping as they try to hold on to the family farm. Jim has to stay in school while he tries to do man's work around the farm. His mother works at the soap factory in town, trying to make enough money to buy food and pay the bills.

Jim is unnerved when a strange-acting girl from town confronts him while he is doing chores on the farm. He knows she is the step-daughter of the minister at the church he and his mother used to attend in town. Rumor has it that she has emotional problems and has to take medication to remain stable. He is really shocked when she tells him that she knows his father has been murdered. He is even more shocked when she tells him that her step-father, the minister, is the murderer. How can he possibly believe her?

The girl tells Jim some things that he should check out if he really wants to find out what happened to his father. When Jim starts to ask some of the old-timers about his dad's early days, he finds out that his dad, the minister, and a couple of other boys hung out together when they were younger. One of them was killed in a mysterious fire and, afterward, the group seemed to break up. When Jim checked newspaper files, he found out even more about the earlier incident. It seemed that there might be some truth in what the girl was telling him.

When the minister suspected Jim was asking too many questions, his behavior became stranger and stranger. Soon Jim is terrified for his own life and that of the girl. Can he obtain proof of his father's murder before the murderer kills again? The conclusion is as dramatic and scary as any murder movie you may have seen. Don't plan to read this book unless you can handle a complicated plot and plenty of frightening action.

 

Two nine-year-old girls, one deaf, work at remaining best friends forever

Megan Merrill was excited that a new girl was moving into the house just four doors down. Although she was deaf, Megan was not shy at all and watched as the new family's furniture was being unloaded. She went right up and introduced herself to Cindy Callicchio as soon as Cindy got out of the car. Cindy, who was shy and reserved, was surprised at Megan's way of talking and by the bright purple hearing aids in her ears. Still the girls, because they were both nine and the only girls in the neighborhood, started to hang out together right away.

Megan began to teach Cindy sign language, and Cindy seemed to pick it up fairly easily. The two girls could communicate in noisy situations and talk to each other without others knowing what they were saying. Of course, Megan was much faster and could easily leave Cindy behind if she didn't take care to sign more slowly.

Cindy helped Megan in some situations where Megan was unable to tell what was going on because of her hearing loss. And that's when a small problem began to get in the way of the girl's friendship. Megan was short-tempered and became angry when she thought Cindy moved in too quickly to help her. Megan wanted to be independent. Why couldn't Cindy understand that if Megan wanted help, she would ask for it. And of course Cindy was hurt when she felt Megan got upset when she was just trying to be a good friend and be helpful.

When the two girls went to summer camp together, their friendship was put to the test even further. Lizzie, another deaf girl, joined the small group living in the cabin at camp. Naturally, Megan and Lizzie, because they both were hard of hearing, spent a lot of time together. Cindy began to feel left out and abandoned by Megan. Could the two girls, Cindy and Megan, stay best friends, not just at camp, but when they went back home?

This novel was written by Marlee Matlin, an academy award winning actress, who has been deaf since she was eighteen months old. You may have seen her in a movie or on television.

 

A girl hockey player decides to take ballet lessons

Bea Nash was invited to a birthday party. The invitation was from her friend, Rebecca, who took ballet lessons. The theme of the party was to be "A Ballerina's Birthday - Come join the dance." Bea wasn't too impressed. She had hockey practice before the party and there was no way she would miss hockey.

After playing games, the girls put on their pajamas, spread their sleeping bags, and prepared to watch a video on the VCR. Of course, it was a dance movie - the story of Cinderella. In spite of herself, Bea was impressed. For the rest of the weekend, she couldn't get the dancing out of her mind. Those dancers moved even faster than skaters, and they could really jump. She asked her mother if maybe she could take ballet lessons and still continue to play hockey.

Bea found it hard to fit in with girls who had been studying ballet since they were smaller. But soon she felt she was starting to fit in. The other girls were mostly friendly and supportive. There was a pair of twins, however, who made fun of her and some of the other girls. Strangely, the twins were not very good dancers and certainly not as good as they thought they were.

Bea worked hard at her ballet lessons. She was pleasantly surprised when she found that the ballet practice was helping her play better hockey. She really became excited when the dance students were asked to try out for spots in the holiday production of "The Nutcracker." Even though she was new at ballet, she won a fairly significant role in the production.

Unfortunately, the two nasty twins also won roles in "The Nutcracker." But because they were jealous of other girls who secured better parts, they set about sabotaging the show. Could Bea and her friends save the show? If you have any interest in ballet at all, this is a book for you.

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St. Louis History

This Month in St. Louis History

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Things To Do

Places to Go, Things to Do

Free things for kids at Final 4 weekend

Tickets for the NCAA Men's Final 4 basketball games are all sold out. But, lots of basketball-related events-many of them free-are available for kids during the Arch Madness weekend in St. Louis April 1-4.

One really neat event is on Friday, April 1. Final practice sessions for the four tournament teams will be open and free to the public. Each team will conduct an hour-long practice on the same Edward Jones Dome floor where games will be played.

The NCAA's Championship Weekend activities are just some of the Places to Go, Things to Do for kids in the St. Louis area.

Each month, Young Saint Louis.com looks ahead for participation opportunities for kids and their families. Be sure to check this space every month.

Kids and their families will find plenty of other good activities and programs at the following places: St. Louis Science Center, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri Department of Conservation areas and the St. Louis County Parks.

In addition, there will be two Lewis&Clark video-conferences in March.

Also, in this article, YSL.com will continue to give advance notice of outstanding, upcoming summer camp opportunities for area kids. This month, we focus on the Gifted Resource Council's "summer academies" lineup.

 

NCAA's Arch Madness Weekend

Among events open to the public during the NCAA Final 4 weekend are:

NCAA Hoop City, Taste of St. Louis, Final 4 Band and Cheerleader Pep Rally, NABC All-Star Games, YES sports clinics, the March to the Arch and a Desani Festival of music and food.

The NCAA Hoop City will be held Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday in the America's Center. Events include lots of interactive activities and you can meet NCAA coaches, participate in clinics and attend a party hosted by NCAA mascot, J.J. Jumper.

Hours for the events are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. There is an attendance fee of $3 for kids 3-11, college kids and seniors. General admission is $5. Kids 2 and under are free.

The Taste of St. Louis will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free but food and beverages will have charges.

There'll be music by local blues and jazz groups and food from St. Louis' top restaurants.

The Final 4 band and cheerleader pep rally will be Friday, April 1, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Kiener Plaza. There is no charge.

The NABC All Star games also will be held Friday, April 1, at the Savvis Center. The main game features college all-stars playing serious hoops against the Harlem Globetrotters. This game starts at 8 p.m.

Two preliminary games are at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. The first preliminary matches alumni from DeSmet and Cardinal Ritter high schools. The second game pits alumni from University of Missouri and University of Illinois.

Ticket information is available from www.ticketmaster.com or by phone from (314) 241-1888. You can buy tickets also at the Savvis Center ticket office.

Youth Education through Sports (YES) clinics will be held Saturday, April 2, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at four different locations. Clinic sites are at Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club, Saint Louis University, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Washington University.

Admission is free but preregistration is required. You can get registration materials online at www.stlloc.org.

Kids 10 to 18 are invited. There are clinics on sports, life and conditioning skills and cover a range of topics. In addition, there are clinics for parents covering such things as coaching, nutrition, sportsmanship and injury prevention.

The NCAA March to the Arch will be Sunday, April 3, starting at 11 a.m. The March to the Arch is for kids 18 and under and is free. The kids will dribble basketballs from St. Louis Union Station up Market Street to Kiener Plaza.

The first 3,000 kid participants receive a free basketball and T-shirt.

The final event open to the public is the Dasani Festival on Sunday, April 3, from noon to 7 p.m. The festival features national and regional musical acts such as Gavin DeGrew, Kelly Clarkson and Joss Stone. Also, Taste of St. Louis food will be available.

For complete details, visit www.stlloc.org.

 

St. Louis Science Center

A new Omnimax film will give kids and their families a big screen look at the training of American fighter pilots. "Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag" starts Friday, March 18.

The events are free. The dates are March 6, 20 and 27 from 2 to 4 p.m.

For information and a camp brochure, call (314) 289-4439 or toll-free 1-800-456-SLSC, ext 4439. Also, you can download the camp brochure and registration forms at www.slsc.org.

 

St. Louis County Parks February events

If you and your family are into frontier things, you'll like to attend the Frontier American Market sale, swap meet and auction. It's scheduled for the Jefferson Barracks Grant Shelter on Feb. 26.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $3 for those 13 and over; $2 for 12 and under.

Another special event is a Hunter Education Course at Queeny Park's Community Room on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 26-27. You must be 11 or older to attend and kids under 16 have to be with a paying adult.

Also, a Fossil Hunt is scheduled for the Greensfelder Park Learning Center Sunday, Feb. 27, from 1-3 p.m. Tickets are $3.

No registration is needed for the sale, swap meet and auction. Advance registrations for the hunter education and fossil hunt events can be called to (636) 391-3474.

For more information about museum events, visit www.stlouisco.com/parks.

 

Missouri Department of Conservation programs

In March, Missouri Department of Conservation areas have programs to help kids and families get a head start on aiding birds and other wildlife this spring.

"Purple Martin Time" programs will be held at the August Busch area in St. Charles County (March 8) and the Columbia Bottom area (March 10). At the Rockwoods Reservation area, there will be a "Bluebird Houses" workshop on March 12.

At the Powder Valley Nature Center, you can learn how to develop your backyard into haven for wildlife as well as wild plants. That workshop is March 26.

For information on these and other MDC programs, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/.

 

St. Louis County parks

St. Louis County parks have a number of fishing events in March. These can help you get ready for the fishing seasons. One neat event is the Suson Park's Trout&Chili Feed.

The Suson event will be Friday, March 26.

For more details, visit http://www.stlouisco.com/parks/gf-2005/gf-2005.htm

 

Lewis&Clark videos

The Lewis&Clark reenactment tour will have two video-conferences during March. These are open for internet viewing by the public. But you'll need a high-speed internet connection in order to see the conference live and in sound and motion.

On Thursday, March 10, the broadcast is "Sacagawea Joins the Expedition." Then, on March 24, there is a conference on "Creation of a Lewis and Clark Opera."

For more information, call (314) 773-6934.

 

Sumer Camp Preview

Gifted Resource Council "academies"

The Gifted Resource Council is a group that provides kids with enrichment experiences. Their summer day camps offer a variety of science, outer space and history topics.

A new camp for younger kids will explore what it would be like to make a trip across the country in a covered wagon.

The summer "academies" are for kids from 1st through 8th grades. The camps run daily, Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The camps will be at the Ronald E. McNair School in University City.

There are three different "academy" periods, June 20-July 1; July 5-15, and July 18-29. Kids can go to more than one camp.

All camp sessions include physical activity. The type of activity usually fits the camp subject. For instance, the outer space camp will include rigorous, astronaut-type training.

For complete details on GRC "summer academies," visit www.giftedresourcecouncil.org. Or you can call the GRC at (314) 962-5920. (There are some merit scholarships and financial assistance grants available.)

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