Youth Programs
Fresh Air Fridays
Back by popular demand! This year, Fresh Air Fridays is being offered as a month-long day program series and will rotate around KMTA communities. The program is a combination of afterschool, half day, and full days sessions based on the KPBSD calendar.
Pathfinders
Many of our region’s historic corridors are preserved and enjoyed today as multi-use trails. Pathfinders empowers kids to build skills, have adventures, and create lasting connections to the KMTA via these trails across time.
Coastal Connections
Piloted in 2023, expanding in 2024! During an exciting week-long day-based program, participants explore their local coastal ecosystem through a variety of adventure outings, science and art activities, and personal connections.
Fresh Air Fridays
Fresh Air Fridays (FAF) is all about fresh air and FUN! This program is offered across the KMTA region to local families with kids in kindergarten to fifth grade. FAF offers adventure, art, science, outdoor skill-building, and other activities with a goal to build community, foster pride of place, empower kids through skill-building, and support families with safe and supervised fun for their kids.
Fresh Air Fridays is back for the 2024-2025 school year! Each month, Fresh Air Fridays will have a different theme that will guide program activities and adventures.
Freaky Fungi & Haunted Hemlocks
In celebration of the spookiest month of the year, we will be diving into the creepy, crawly, decomposing world of the forest in fall. Join us to compete for finding the biggest mushroom, the gnarliest tree, telling the best ghost story, and more!
Into the Time Machine!
Prepare for a thrilling adventure through time and space! We’ll use games and outdoor activities to travel backward, forwards, and sideways in time to learn about the KMTA’s past, present, and future.
Frozoners
Calling all young adventurers in the Whittier area! It’s time to strap on our super snow suits and learn different ways to safely smile through the cold. Each week we will practice cold weather safety skills while we explore unique locations around Whittier using different forms of winter transportation (sledding, snowshoeing, xc skiing, and kick-sledding).
Snow Rangers
This month we’ll be taking advantage of in-service days to explore the winterized KMTA corridor. From Seward to Hope, we’ll play outside, practice winter survival and snow safety skills, and enjoy the beautiful natural environment of our region.
100 Things to do Before You’re 12
We’ve come up with a list of 100 things all Alaskan kids should do before they’re 12. Our list is adapted from Great Outdoors Colorado’s Generation Wild initiative, a research-led, multiyear campaign designed to spark a movement that would reconnect kids to the outdoor world. This month we’ll see how many things we can check off of the list!
Pathfinders
Travel through and across the KMTA NHA’s mountainous terrain has always required creativity, fortitude, and skill. Today, many of these historic transportation corridors are preserved and enjoyed as multi-use trails that provide access to the region’s incredible natural beauty and resources. Our Pathfinders programs empower kids from across Southcentral Alaska to build skills, have adventures, and create lasting connections to the heritage area via these “trails across time.”
Pathfinders is a new program for Summer 2024! This two-day camp (Tuesdays & Wednesdays) is open to KMTA community residents ages 6-12. We have partnered with the Chugach National Forest, Kenai Fjords National Park, and other community organizations to create unique themes for each week and connect kids to some of the incredible stewards, stories, and projects of the KMTA region.
Pathfinders programs are open to all KMTA communities. Each week of camp will have 1-2 “meeting points” where we will offer pick up & drop off to participating kids. Our “basecamp” will be where we will meet our partner staff and begin and end the day’s adventure- these could be visitor centers, trailheads, or other recreation areas/facilities.
Our pilot season of Pathfinders was a huge success! We can’t wait for more next summer…stay tuned!
During an exciting week-long day-based program, Seward kids explore their local coastal ecosystem through a variety of adventure outings, science and art activities, and personal connections. Participants will have the opportunities to safely explore and play outside along with some focused time to connect to the places we visit through art and hands-on science activities. Students explore the coast on foot, kayak the bay, and paddleboard to experience the land and waters of Seward while working on team building, leadership, and strategies for personal balance and resilience. This program is made possible through partnership with the Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center and Alaska SeaGrant.
Coastal Connections is a 5-day summer camp program. Program fees include snacks, activities, instruction, and transportation.
Participating kids need to bring rain gear, extra layers, rain boots, hiking shoes, lunch, a water bottle, and a backpack.
We had an incredible summer of Coastal Connections Camps- a big thanks to all who joined us. We’ll be back for more in summer 2025!
