Boy Scouts of Ventura County

The purpose of the Boy Scouts of America—incorporated on February 8, 1910, and chartered by Congress in 1916—is to provide an educational program for children and young adults to build character, to train in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and to develop personal fitness.  The Ventura County Council of the BSA is located at 509 East Daily Drive in Camarillo.  Visit www.vccbsa.org or call 805.482.8938 for more information.

Programs include:

• Cub Scouts: Grades K-5

• Scouts BSA: Ages 11-17

• Venturing: Ages 14-20

• Exploring: Ages 14-20

• Sea Scouts: Ages 14-20

Grant R. Brimhall Library in Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park Branch

Grant R. Brimhall Library in Thousand Oaks

There are two great local Conejo Valley libraries for kids and adults alike. The Grant R. Brimhall Library is at 1401 E. Janss Road in Thousand Oaks (805.449.2660) and the local Newbury Park Branch is at 2331 Borchard Road (805.498.2139). The main library has a huge children's section with a great 3,600 gallon aquarium in the hallway leading into the main library. Visit www.tolibrary.org to learn more.

As of January 2023, library hours are as follows (subject to change):

Grant R. Brimhall Library:

• Mon-Thurs: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

• Fri: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Sat: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Sun: Noon to 5 p.m.

Newbury Park Branch Library (new hours starting January 3, 2023):

• Mon-Thurs: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

• Fri: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Sat: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Sun: Closed

Both libraries are closed on major holidays

If you're looking for a place to cool off and relax during the summer months, you can't beat the Thousand Oaks Library. Nice and cool in there and plenty of spaces to grab a book and relax. Take advantage of it!

There’s also a virtual library available 24/7 at www.tolibrary.org/research. Free services are numerous:

• eBooks and more: Flipster (magazines), Freegal Music, Kanopy (free films, documentaries and TV shows), OverDrive/Libby (eBooks, Audiobooks), PressReader and more.

• Mobile apps: Lynda.com, NYTimes.com, Rosetta Stone, TumbleBooks (animated picture books) and BrainFuse (academic tools). BookFliz (video storybooks)

• Free Learning Apps: Codecademy, DigitalLearn.org, edX, Khan Academy, etc.

Other items of note:

• The Thousand Oaks Library is not part of the Ventura County Library System (it was part of the system prior to November 1982) and thus your library card can only be used for books at these two libraries.

• The Grant Brimhall Library is 84,000 sq ft and the Newbury Park Branch is 17,000 sq ft.

The 3,600 gallon saltwater aquarium.

Hockey Alley Ice Hockey Training Facility in Newbury Park

Hockey Alley is a unique, patented ice hockey training facility designed and built specifically for individual instruction.  Located at 2697 Lavery Court in Newbury Park, the alley ice surface measures 20 feet by 60 feet and is perfect for team practice or practice games.  The primary alley can be rented and pucks are supplied by Hockey Alley.  For more information, visit www.hockeyalley.com or call 805.375.6092.

Pacific Youth Football League

The Pacific Youth Football League was established in 1993 to serve youth football players between the ages of 6 and 14 in Ventura, Santa Barbara and Northern Los Angeles Counties. The league strives to give these youth the opportunity to play football and cheer in a controlled environment with an emphasis on safety, technique, sportsmanship and teamwork.

Local teams in the Ventura County and adjacent areas include:

• Moorpark Musketeers www.moorparkyouthfootball.com

• North Oxnard Warriors www.northoxnardwarriors.com

• Oxnard Panthers www.oxnardpanthers.com

• Ventura Packers www.venturapackers.net

• Agoura Hills “A-Town” Chargers www.atownchargers.com

Learn more about the league at www.pacificyouthfootballleague.com/page/show/5671471-about.

KidzCity in Woodland Hills

KidzCity, Inc is a licensed play, educational and party center where you can safely drop your kids off or stay, chat or work in our work rooms for no extra charge. KidzCity offers a variety of kids' activities, including video games, ping pong, air hockey, foosball, board games, toys, dress up activities and more.

Open on no school days and holidays for fun play and activities, as well Parents' Night Outs on Fridays, camps, after school programs, birthday parties and more. All ages, including adults. Located at 22325 Dolorosa Street, Woodland Hills (Ventura Blvd and Shoup).

More info at kidzcity.co or 818.887.7516.

101 Warriors Youth Football and Cheer in Westlake Village

The 101 Youth Football and Cheer and its predecessor organizations having been serving the families of players and cheerleaders in the greater Conejo Valley for over 30 years.

Registration for football and cheer in the fall each year. Member of the Gold Coast Youth Football Leagues. Football participation based on age and weight at www.101-warriors.org.

• Mighty Mite: Ages 6 to 8

• Bantam: Ages 8 to 10

• Freshman: Ages 9 to 11

• Sophomore: Ages 10 to 12

• Junior: Ages 11 to 13

• Senior: Ages 12 to 14

Cheer participation is for girls ages 6 to 14, focusing on cheers, dances and stunts performed on the sideline and midfield at halftime during 101 Warrior football games.

More information at www.101-warriors.org.

Alameda Park in Santa Barbara

Ranking high up on the list of parks with cool play areas around town is Alameda Park, located at the corner of Garden Street and E. Micheltorena Street in Santa Barbara. Alameda Park has an 8,000 sq ft mostly wooden play structure that was built by local residents.

Your kids will fall in love with the nooks, crannies, steps, bridges and places to hide in this play structure. There are also swings and things to climb on. The park itself is 2 blocks long and one of the oldest parks in Santa Barbara. It is next door to the beautiful Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden. Plenty of grass, spectacular, large shade trees and much more make this a perfect picnic lunch stop when you're in town.

More information at www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/parksrec/parks/features/horticulture/alameda.asp.

Free Airplane Rides for Kids in Camarillo and Santa Paula

Each month, Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 723 offers free flights to youth ages 8 through 17, weather permitting.

The EAA Young Eagles program was launched in 1992 to give young people the opportunity to fly in a general aviation airplane. EAA volunteers will explain what you will see and do pre-flight, then take you on a 15 to 20 minute flight. After the flight, your pilot will present you with your own Young Eagles logbook, along with an entry for the flight.

In Camarillo, flights take place from the EAA Hangar Area at 501 Aviation Drive at the Camarillo Airport on the first Saturday of the month. Look for signs; it is next to Commemorative Air Force, CAF Museum, and near the Animal Shelter. Please park on the street, Aviation Way. DO NOT PARK in the CAF Parking Lot.

In Santa Paula, flights are from Santa Paula Airport and take place on the first Sunday of each month. Look for signs.

Visit chapters.eaa.org/eaa723/young-eagles/eagles-flights for more information.

So Cal Field Hockey Federation

The So Cal Field Federation is a non-profit organization supporting the development of field hockey in Southern California, from youth to international level competition. Based in Thousand Oaks and games at Moorpark College. Local teams include the Conejo Valley Bulldogs, Simi Valley Kings, Moorpark Coyotes, Ventura Roadrunners and Ventura County Red Devils.

FHF has teams for ages U8 and up for youth, adults, males and females!  Youth Field Hockey Spring sign-ups take place in January for the Spring season.

For more information and links to each team, visit www.socalfieldhockey.com.

Sky Zone Thousand Oaks at Janss Marketplace

Sky Zone Thousand Oaks (formerly Defy Extreme Air Sports and formerly DojoBoom) opened at Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks on November 3, 2017. (and became Defy in late 2019 and Sky Zone in late July 2022).

Offering over 50,000 sq. feet of fun, including walll to wall trampolines, free style jump, skyslam, ultimate dodgeball, foam zone, skyhoops, rock wall, and much more.

Open 9am to 9pm.

Birthday party packages available. 

Learn more at www.skyzone.com/thousandoaks call 805.410.4690.