West Central Youth Club

06/06/2026

What do you find after a good rainstorm in an Iowa forest?

If you were hiking with us yesterday at Springbrook State Park the answer was Snails, Snails and more Snails! 🐌 🐌🐌

Our campers were excited for their snail discoveries. We found terrestrial forest snails of all sizes and even some empty shells to investigate along the trail. The storms the night before made the perfect conditions for the snails to greet us on our hike.

These small-but-mighty creatures are vital to Iowa’s woodland ecosystem. They are decomposers, who break down fungi, decaying wood and leaf litter. They are nature’s recyclers, they help enrich our soil with essential nutrients. They also serve as a food source for birds, small mammals, and amphibians. Spotting them out in the open like we did is a great indicator of a healthy microhabitat.

Most campers wanted to bring the snails home to share, however we convinced them to set the snails free where they belonged, enjoy the pictures instead. 🐌

06/04/2026

For our summer programs we will run in the rain but if there is the threat of lightning we will cancel. Please check in the morning of a program if you have questions. Thanks!

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05/27/2026

We have a great need for chaperones on our Friday June 5th field trip to Springbrook Park! The program runs from 9:00-1:00 and includes some light hiking. Chaperones can ride along on the bus or meet at the park.

If interested please DM us!

05/20/2026

Summer program registration is currently full - we are not able to take any additional registrations at this time.

05/04/2026

We're back! Summer program registrations will go home this week to students at Stuart Elementary, but you can view the form AND register now at: https://form.jotform.com/261236338204047

Friday June 5th - Springbrook State Park
Wednesday June 10th - Keuhn Conservation
Wednesday June 17th - Iowa Arboretum Treehouses
Friday June 19th - DSM Children's Museum

Please click the link to complete this form.

02/10/2026

Summer program planning is underway!

We're looking at going back to Keuhn Conservation and Springbrook, and adding the Iowa Arboretum/Treehouse Village and DSM Children's Museum to the schedule. Programs will be open to entering PreK-3rd grade like last year. Information will be sent home to families late April.

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12/23/2025

Last week we had a great crafternoon with kids making a variety of crafts including air dry clay snowmen, window mosaics, watercolor paintings, and the biggest hit Lego ornaments thanks to a donation from our WCV School Resource Officer!

12/11/2025

We've got an afternoon of winter crafting planned for students in grades 3-5 on Thursday December 18th after school!
Program runs from 3:45-4:45 with a limit of 15 students.
Mrs. Tammy will get registration slips to teachers tomorrow, feel free to register now at this link: https://form.jotform.com/253444056748160

*Future crafternoons will be planned for Stuart Elementary after the new year.

09/25/2025

Our afterschool brick building club has been going great the last two weeks!
Lots of free building, sets, and the starts of stop motion.
We will share the stop motion videos when we get them ready!

09/09/2025

Our STEM/Brick Building program will begin next week at Dexter Elementary - registered families please check your email.

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