Fun on wheels

MOSES LAKE — When you’re a kid, the summer is full of enjoyable things to do. And if you can’t get to them, the city of Moses Lake brings the fun to you.

“Not every kid can get to the Recreation Center,” said Recreation Superintendent Carrie Hoiness. “Not every kid can get to the pool or to the roller rink. So what we want to do is provide those opportunities for the kids who can’t get there.”

The Mobile Recreation Unit began its summer schedule last week, traveling around Moses Lake to four city parks in four neighborhoods Monday through Thursday. The activities are geared toward children 5-12 years old, but nobody gets turned away, Hoiness said. 

At each stop, staff members park the van and break out the toys: huge stacking cups, an oversized Connect Four game, a giant Tetris game. There are also card games, water games, coloring and crafts, Hoiness said.

“We’ve also reached out to different partners for guest speakers,” Hoiness said. “We’ve had the mobile library, we have the (Columbia Basin) Conservation District, we have the Moses Lake Museum. Anybody we can get hold of and say, ‘Do you have something you want to share? Is there a need to talk to youth in our community?”

One speaker was a dentist, who spoke with the children about the importance of brushing their teeth, Hoiness said. The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center has a schedule of craft activities that includes pine cone bird feeders, watercolor painting and tie-dying shirts and other cotton items, according to the city’s website.

The Mobile Recreation Unit has been operating since 2022, Hoiness said. It started with a Summer Experiences and Enrichment for Kids, or SEEK, grant from the Washington Recreation and Park Association, she said. The SEEK grant program was a collaboration between the WRPA, the Association of Washington Cities and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and was meant to increase recreational opportunities for underserved communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the WRPA’s website. The grant that Moses Lake received was about $25,000, Hoiness said.

“We got an ambulance from our fire department, and then we used the funding to wrap the vehicle and then for operating supplies and staffing,” Hoiness said. The ongoing staffing and supply costs are built into the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department’s budget now, she added.

The unit also serves to distribute the free summer lunches provided through the school district, Hoiness said, and has a water station so kids don’t get too hot playing in the sun.

“Sometimes if the weather is too hot, we’ll adjust the time and we update that (information) on our social media,” she said. The same might happen if the air becomes too smoky during wildfire season.

The program has proved popular, Hoiness said. Anywhere from 20 to 40 children a day come to play there,

“Day cares will come to us,” she said. “Church camps will come to us. (Organizations) build us into their programming. And then we’ll get families or kids who walk over who are local to that park. People follow us from park to park to park.”

Moses Lake Mobile Recreation Unit

10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. June 22-Aug. 6

Monday: Knolls Vista Park, 339 N. Central Drive

Tuesday: Carpenter Park, S. Gibby Road and W. Lee St.

Wednesday: 1008 W. Aspen Road

Thursday: Peninsula Park, 3519 W. Peninsula Drive

All activities free of charge

    The Mobile Recreation Unit has toys and games for all ages.
  

    The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center partners with the Mobile Recreation Unit to bring crafts to Moses Lake children in their own neighborhoods.
  

    The Mobile Recreation Unit is housed in a converted ambulance and offers endless ways for active kids to work out their summer energy.