The Youth Center 

A Magical Place of Wonder and Fun

Is one of your parents in the military? Do you have base access? If not, stop reading right now. If you do, let me tell you about a place of magic, wonder, and fun. 

The Youth Center is on Ellsworth AFB across the road from the base chapel. If you are 12-9 years old, you can sign up for something called Annex. Annex is a place for kids to hang out after school. It has a Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation. It has food and places to hang out and watch TV. There are all kinds of fun things like Legos, a foosball table, a pool table, and Chromebooks. There are two ways to come to Annex: you can sign up for Open Rec, where you can come over to the Youth Center any time you want after school. There is also the main Youth Center program, where you take the bus to the Youth Center, and you stay there until your parents pick you up. Annex also has a paid snack bar and many helpful aids that can help you with things like homework. There is also a playground, a Pokemon Club, a gym, and sports. 

If you are 13 or older, you can sign up for the Teen Center. The Teen Center has everything the Youth Center has, as well as a popcorn machine, a coffee machine, a dart board, VR, and homework help There is also little to no supervision, so you can hang out with your friends and do whatever you want. If there is something at the Teen Center that you don’t see but want, like an air hockey table, just ask the aids, and they will try their hardest to get what you ask for*. The Teen Center is the same way, you can do Open Rec or the main program. 

*(within reason)

The one downside to the Youth Center is the cost. Both programs for both areas of the center are $30 a month. This is, however, worth it, because you get access to all the aforementioned programs and more, with things like summer field trips, sleepovers, and more.

To sign up for the Youth and Teen Centers, search “Ellsworth AFB Youth Center” and click on the first link.

By Sean Glynn