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KidZone takes August break

Andrew Cristancho
Sierra Sun
Ryan Salm/Sierra SunSue Coleman shows Angelina Wilson how to perform Washoe basket weaving at the Kid Zone. The KidZone museum will close for August and reopen in September.
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Citing operating costs and competition from Lake Tahoe summer activities, officials at the nonprofit KidZone museum in Truckee said they will close the interactive museum in August and reopen in September.

The summer vacation does not affect the center’s planned art camp and family camp in August.

This is the third year in a row the museum has closed in the dog days of summer.



Attendance has been strong this summer at the KidZone, said Director Carol Meagher, but the extra entry fees do not make up the educational institution’s annual operating deficit.

Meagher said that the museum’s yearly budget is close to $250,000 with revenues of only $71,300. Donations and grants contribute approximately $100,000.



The museum raises its remaining funds through events like this year’s Texas Hold ‘Em event, a poker game for the big kids that managed to raise nearly $36,000.

Although the KidZone will be closed, the educational center will host a couple of events in August.

Artist and Tahoe Truckee school teacher Kim Krengle will lead a five-day Batik Studio Art Camp at the KidZone facility starting Aug. 13. The event is for children 7 to 11 years old and costs $195 per student including supplies.

The Sagehen Family Camp, a three-day, two-night camping trip, is scheduled for Aug. 17-19. The families will be housed at the Sagehen Creek Field Station, owned by the University of California Berkeley. Organizers of the natural-science camp can accommodate 60 people, with a combined fee of $450 for food and activities for a family of four, and $70 for each additional family member. All ages are welcome.

The KidZone will reopen Sept. 4 after the Labor Day holiday with winter hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

“Our building is a place for children from zero to five,” Meagher said. “[We] focus on all aspects of their development.”

For more information, call The KidZone at 587-KIDS. The white domed facility is located on 11711 Donner Pass Road past the Truckee fire station. The nonprofit center partners with Truckee Donner Recreation and Parks District, Truckee Family Connection, Children’s Collaborative of Tahoe Truckee, the Truckee Donner Public Utility District, Placer and Nevada Counties, and Tahoe Truckee Unified School District.


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