Isla Vista Recreation and Park District

(The following programs are free to residents of Isla Vista. Please call the District Office at (805) 968 - 2017 ext 23 for more information)

Children's Park Recreation Program:
M - F 3:00 - 6:00 PM (or dark). Summer Hours: 2:30-6:30 PM.
The recreation program at Children's Park is an open door program that serves children of various ages ranging from pre-school (if supervised by an older person) to fifteen. This program was started in November of 1995 to give "at risk" children positive things to do during the afternoon hours. It is NOT a childcare program; children are free to come and go as they please.

Daily Activities include:

1) Table games: Foosball, Caroms, Bloody Knuckles, Table Maze, Mini Ping Pong, Bean Bag Toss, and a Mini Pool Table

2) Two Game Chests: one with sport equipment and one with educational games

3) Manipulative Play: play dough, sand toys, birdseed turtle box, and water play (weather permitting)

4) Arts & Craft Projects

5) Organized Games

6) Multicultural Dance

*There are also special events, field trips and numerous contests.

This program for local children provides excursions for the purpose of providing cultural enrichment. Each year approximately thirty field trips are made to a wide variety of events including movies, concerts, story-telling performances, puppet shows, athletic competitions, dance performances, poetry readings, and theatrical presentations. Excursions also include outings to educational facilities, nature preserves and historic sites.

This program is offered once a week during the summer months. Children and participating parents walk with the recreation leaders from Children's Park to the Campus Pool at UCSB. After two hours at the pool, the group walks back to Children's Park. In May, the Jr. Life Guard Program provides free swimming lessons for Isla Vista Children at the UCSB Recreation Center pool. The Isla Vista Recreation & Park District registers the children and escorts them to and from these lessons.

Isla Vista Teen Center Activities:
M - F 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM
The Isla Vista Teen Center, started by The Isla Vista Youth Task Force in1998, is managed and operated by the YMCA. The Center, located at 889 Camino Del Sur, offers the following programs and activities:
1) Tutoring & College Prep Assistance
2) Drug, Alcohol & Tobacco Prevention
3) Health Education
4) The Raising Stars Leadership Program
5) A computer Lab
6) Sports & Recreation.
The Isla Vista Recreation & Park District is a co-sponsor of the Isla Vista Teen Center.

Hiking And Exploration Club:
alternate Sundays 10:00 AM - 3:00PM

This program, started in May 2001, is cosponsored by the SB County Tobacco Prevention Settlement Program and The Isla Vista Rec. & Park District. Children ages 9 through 17 may participate in the club, which emphasizes tobacco product prevention. The group meets twice at month at the Isla Vista Teen Center. Meetings generally last five hours and include a 20-minute video on the hazards of tobacco use. After the video and a quick review, the children take a quiz on the material that was presented. Those who score 70% or better receive a Blenders gift certificate. At each meeting the group goes for a hike or explores a local site of interest, then eats lunch together before returning to the Teen Center.

Please contact Annie Aziz if you interested in learning more about the District's recreation programs or have any questions.