Teen Scene
How to keep your older kids occupied this summer and beyond.
By Kendra Gemma
Summer break is here and your teens have outgrown many of their former favorite camps but they’re too young to work. How can you keep them active and not gaming at home for the next couple of months – and throughout the rest of the year? Believe it or not, Manatee County has plenty of opportunities for your 13- to 18-year-olds to make new friends, have fun, and – gasp! – maybe even learn something.
Parks and Recreation
If your teen loves spending time outdoors or competing against friends, look to local parks and other outside organizations.
Get those wheels turning! Athletic teens have two skate parks where they can show off their latest tricks or practice new ones on their skateboards, BMX bikes, or inline skates.
The City of Bradenton’s Riverwalk is home to a popular skate park with a variety of exciting and challenging features, including rails, stairs, multiple ledges, moguls, and a mini bowl with a vertical wall.
G.T. Bray Recreation Center has its own skate park, as well, which is open from sunrise until 11 p.m. every day. Kids who don’t skate or who like to mix things up can enjoy the center’s dedicated teen room. Equipped with a foosball table, ping pong, and air hockey, it’s like a mini arcade. Computers and TVs offer more relaxing entertainment. The teen room is open during regular recreation hours, but availability is limited during summer and holiday camps.
Teens who light up around horses, in the countryside, and helping others might want to check out volunteering with Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy (SMART). The non-profit organization provides therapeutic horseback riding experiences for children and adults with special needs. Volunteers as young as 14 can assist with everything from grooming the horses to assisting riders as side-walkers. Volunteer orientations occur the first Saturday of each month. Email the volunteer coordinator at [email protected] to sign up for an orientation.
At the Library
You might have taken your kids to the library for story time when they were little. Now that they’re double digits, there’s still plenty of programming they’ll enjoy – without you these days.
No matter their interests, your kids can find an activity or two that speaks to them at the Manatee County Library System.
Most Wednesday evenings at the Braden River Branch Library Teens Create! offers a makerspace for artistic types who want to try their hand at jewelry making, stop-motion animation, sewing, and more. All equipment and supplies are free to use.
During the Central Library’s Drawing Friday, held at 3 p.m. every week, teens and their younger siblings design characters from scratch. Central Library also hosts a Making Your Own Framed Memes workshop on Friday afternoons. Teens can learn to use a 3D printer at the Central Library in a one-hour class. Aspiring thespians have the opportunity to learn voice acting techniques one-on-one.
At the Island Branch Library, Teen Art Club lets kids explore different mediums like henna painting and different art styles such as figure drawing. Musical kids can take piano for beginners classes at the Rocky Bluff Branch Library.
Gamers and coders have their place at the library, too. The Central Library holds an RPG Day Camp for Teens from June 26 to 30. The Rocky Bluff Branch Library invites teens and tweens to their weekly Minecrafter’s Guild for two hours of building tutorials, gaming, creative arts, and snacks.
Do your teens like robotics? Sign them up for the Central Library’s Block Coding with Sphero Robots and they can learn the basics of block coding – and make a cute orb robot spin, race, and rocket around the room.
Dungeons & Dragons might remind you of your childhood, but its still popular today. Introduce your teens to the role-playing game by registering them for the Braden River Ranch Library’s Tuesday afternoon sessions.
Everyone can come together for events like Teen Game Night at the Braden River Ranch Library and Teen Movie Night at the Palmetto Branch Library. Teen Time at the South Manatee Branch Library combines movies, crafting, games, and other fun stuff on the second Monday of each month.
These are just some of the options for kids presented by the Manatee County Library System. Check with your local library branch for a full schedule of free, teen-appropriate activities.
Museum Marvels
The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature give teens who are intrigued by space, scientific experiments, and animals a cool way to satisfy their curiosity.
A new program, held in the fall through the spring, Teen Nights is for 14- to 18-year-olds. For $12 for the museum’s Discovery Society members and $15 for everyone else, participants get to play games, explore science in new ways, and hang out with like-minded teens. Programs from earlier this year included Planetarium Night, which took a deep look at outer space and Earth; and Science Feature, with expert guests and group workshops. Teen Nights should start up again in October and run through May on the third Friday of most months.
Throughout the year, teens as young as 15 can be more hands-on by volunteering at the Bishop. They can serve as museum greeters, guide guests, assist in educational programs, and support special events. These and other positions will all work with teens’ schedules, even when they’re back in school.
Involve your teens in deciding what activities to try out, encourage them to go outside their comfort zones, and watch them learn and flourish here in Manatee County!