Safety Town Comes to Vernon Hills

Children will have opportunities to learn about safety this summer at the Vernon Hills Park District’s new Safety Town.

Safety Town offers hands-on opportunities for children ages 3 t o 6 to learn about pedestrian, railroad crossing and bicycle safety in a “town” set up in the Family Aquatic Center’s parking lot during off-hours. The town will feature miniature buildings, including a fire station, hospital, school and police station, along with miniature street signs.

Each Safety Town class consists of one hour spent indoors at the Sullivan Community Center, where children will learn about safety through games, activities, videos, books and visits by members of the police and fire departments. The second hour will be spent outdoors in Safety Town. Children will receive a Safety Town T-shirt and a certificate at the end of their session. 

Safety Town sessions will be offered throughout the summer, with the first program beginning May 20. Classes will be held from 9:30-11:30 a.m. four days per week. Additional sessions will begin May 28 and June 3, along with four sessions offered in August. Sandy Weidner and Kerry VanderMey are the Safety Town instructors.

Four local businesses — Jason’s Deli, Vernon Hills Bank and Trust, Allstate, and Mathnasium — sponsored the park district’s Safety Town with $100 donations.  Vernon Hills’ Target contributed a $25 gift card, which was used to buy first aid supplies for the children’s first aid kits that they will be making as part of the Safety Town curriculum.

Park maintenance employee Gaby Rodriguez designed and built the Safety Town structures. She and colleague Jorge Olivares painted the miniature structures.

For more information about Safety Town, contact Gail Herrmann, early childhood supervisor, at (847) 996-6808 or gailh@vhparkdistrict.org.