My Discovery Destination program to be celebrated at Cache Valley Mall

LOGAN – After a successful first summer, the My Discovery Destination program will have an all-day celebration of a successful first summer this Saturday, July 29, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Cache Valley Mall. The celebration will include food, live music, booths and dozens of activities.

My Discovery Destination is a program designed to help kids and families get out and enjoy fun, educational activities together. It connects them with businesses and community organizations, setting up a list of sponsored “adventures” kids can participate in. After completing each adventure, participants receive a stamp in their My Discovery Destination passport.

Adventures include things like going to Lee’s Marketplace and learning to understand food labels, or going to Rutledge Roofing and learning how to build a birdhouse out of something that was planned to be thrown away.

The program was originally supposed to only last the summer. It was meant to be a simple program to give kids something to do and temporarily replace a similar program that was discontinued, but after seeing the success of My Discovery Destination, the organizers decided to keep it going.

Program director Sharilee Griffiths said that not only is the program going to last longer than this summer, but that it will be expanding outside Cache Valley as well.

“We are going to be continuing into the school year,” she said. “We are going to be expanding state-wide. We’re actually opening programs clear down in St. George and will be throughout the entire state by October.”

Griffiths said she believes the program has been successful because organizers have tried to ensure that everything is centered on strengthening the family and building character in youth.

“We have been very intentional in making sure everything we do holds to that purpose,” she said. “There have been some opportunities we had that didn’t align with it that would have given us some exposure. We said it was a great opportunity but doesn’t fit who we are.”

The celebration will include animals from Willow Park’s Zootah, food trucks, a bounce house, 16 different bands, a princess party with pedicures, a hero party with military members and police officers in attendance and booths by sponsors with individual activities associated with each.

“We’re going to have a lot of things going on just at the booths themselves,” Griffiths said.

Classes will also be taught on subjects ranging from yoga to bicycle repair to technology and the brain. There will also be a PTA Play Zone where kids can play and parents can join the PTA of their local school.

“That will be completely free for families,” Griffiths said. “All they need to do is sign up for PTA membership.”

Griffiths said the event will be a great opportunity for families interested in the program, and that passports are still available for participation this summer. There have been 462 registered families so far. The summer program will run through August, then a new program will start in September.

Griffiths said My Discovery Destination is run by completely by volunteers.

“Not receiving any payment, they’re just doing it because they love it,” she said. “The program this summer has been completely volunteer.”

A complete schedule of activities can be viewed at this <a href=”http://mydiscoverydestination.com/celebration/” target=”_blank”>link</a>. Griffiths said volunteers are being sought to help with the day’s events.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.