As the school year nears its end, the Quantico Children, Youth and Teen Program is gearing up to offer an activity-packed summer for military children and teens aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico.

The CYTP will offer a 10-week “Summer Care” camp for children ages 6 to 12, which runs June 10 through Aug. 16. Additionally, the program will continue their “Open Rec Fridays,” where children, ages 5 to 12 can enjoy game tournaments on the Play Station 3 or Xbox 360, indoor basketball and computer games. Traci Gibson, youth center director, said “Open Rec Fridays” is also a great opportunity for military parents to break away for a night out. Admission is only $2 per night, but children must be registered with the CYTP prior to signing up.

The goal is to get military children and teens who live on base out of their homes and active, Gibson said.

“I think teens are often forgotten about, because people think they don’t want to attend base events, but they actually do turn out, especially the younger ones,” added Samantha McNair, assistant director at the Quantico Youth Center.

Last year’s summer pool party at the Quantico 50-meter Pool, offered by the CYTP, made a major splash among teens. With more than 50 people at the June 30, 2012 event, organizers said it was the youth program’s largest turnout in three years. Gibson said they are looking forward to incorporating more teen events this year.

Starting in June they will offer “Open Gym” night twice a month, which will allow teens to play basketball from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.  Gibson said the hope is for this event to grow in popularity, so the program can introduce more events.

 “We’re going to start with events like the open gym night and bowling, and then once we get them down here [to the youth center] we can incorporate more activities,” Gibson said.

For information on the CYTP events calendar or to register, call the Quantico Youth Center at 703-784-2249

Staff Writer: afelton@quanticosentryonline.com