Let s hope that come this time next year we ll be giving an award for most expanded animal sanctuary. In order to stuff the ballot box, so to speak, additional donations may be sent to Animal Ark, P.O. Box 60057, Reno, Nev. 89506. As Reno builds a giant-box theater to hide the beauty of the Truckee River, Sparks took a different tack and brought the water to the theater. Check out a matinee movie with the kids. But bring your swimsuits because after sitting through a movie, there s nothing better than running through the sprinklers in the Sparks fountain, listening to the music and soaking up sunshine on a hot summer s day.
Pyramid Lake is also a great place to teach children about taking care of the environment.
Bring a large garbage sack, spend 15 minutes cleaning up after those who aren t as environmentally conscious as you are, and you can leave an already beautiful place nicer than you found it. Both places feature games, books and equipment with a scientific bent for young and old kids. Some say competition for young minds is stiffer than ever with cable television, Marilyn Manson and the Internet, but as long as there are stores like these that make learning fun, there is hope that your children won t be the ones setting off the metal detectors at the local high school. You usually can t solve problems by throwing money at them, but if you re going to try, these are the places to start.