The SAFE BASE summer program returns next week with four weeks of adventure for local youth.
It includes four field trips: A visit to an aquarium, the underground salt museum in Hutchinson, a trampoline park and a water park.
The goal of the program is to offer students fun and enriching learning opportunities, highlighting regional attractions.
The program is free to USD 257 students who just completed kindergarten through eighth grade, and to home-schooled students. It’s located at Jefferson Elementary School.
Except for field trip days, SAFE BASE is from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (middle school students will continue until 1:30 p.m. during Weeks 2-4).
For field trips, students will return to Jefferson by 5 p.m.
A free breakfast and lunch are provided except for field trip days, when students are asked to bring a sack lunch and drink.
Students can choose to attend one week, all four weeks or any combination of weeks. However, they must attend all four days of whatever weeks they choose. Transportation is also available to and from the school.
For more information, call 620-265-4780.
Here is a breakdown of each week:
Week 1: Tuesday through Friday, June 3
Students will visit the Oklahoma Aquarium near Tulsa on Friday.
As an after-school program, SAFE BASE for years focused on studying sharks. The program has since expanded to study other animals like squids and dinosaurs, but the first field trip this summer will be all about sharks.
The Oklahoma Aquarium is home to the world’s largest collection of bull sharks. Ten of “the most dangerous sharks known to man” inhabit a 380,000-gallon saltwater tank and tunnel.
Students can walk through tunnels to see these sharks, as well as other aquatic creatures. They’ll have an opportunity to pet stingrays.
Because of the Memorial Day holiday, the first week of the summer program will be Tuesday through Friday, rather than the typical Monday-Thursday schedule.
Week 2: Monday, June 6 to Thursday, June 9
