WHERE THE TEENS ARE: Growing up in Sin City

Under-21 set make their own fun at area malls, skate parks

Gone are the days when teens hung out at the local malt shoppe, sipping cherry phosphates and dropping nickels into the jukebox. These days, they're more likely to hang out at a friend's house, pounding back Red Bulls and twitching thumbs on an Xbox.

Of course, every teen needs to get out of the house and stretch his or her proverbial wings or at least hang out somewhere where mom can't tell him or her to take out the garbage .

Ever since the first enclosed shopping malls were created , teens have roamed their broad corridors looking for bargains and comparison shopping -- or most likely to find other teens. Places like the Boulevard Mall at 3528 S. Maryland Parkway are teeming with teens, particularly on weekends. The mall is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, except on Sunday, when it is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For those who like a little more hang time to their hanging out time, there is the Cambridge Recreation Center at 3930 Cambridge St. The center features a skate park that becomes a hot bed of skating activity after the sun goes down. The center is one of the sites for the Vegas Am Jam, an annual jam style skating competition hosted in cooperation with the city of Las Vegas and Clark County. This year, it was held at the Cambridge Recreation Center on May 19. The date of next year's event has not yet been announced. The skate park is open 24 hours a day.

A lot of teens can be found engaging in sports in our local parks. Sunset Park at 2601 E. Sunset Road offers a number of athletic fields, tennis courts, picnic areas and open spaces. Most of the teens, however, can be found on the basketball courts, playing spirited pick-up games. The park is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

For teens interested in a physical activity that is less intense, there is bowling at the South Point, located at 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. South. It offers 64 lanes and a junior league.

Also, the nearby movie theaters make it an attractive place to chill, particularly during those hot summer months. The bowling alley is open 24 hours a day.

There hardly seems to be any activity among teens that is more popular than video games, and the obvious choice for folks trying to scratch their Dance Dance Revolution itch is Gameworks, located at 3785 Las Vegas Blvd. South.

Although it no longer hosts concerts, Gameworks still has a sprawling arcade, which offers $35 all-day passes so teens don't have to worry about their pants being dragged down by a pocket crammed full of quarters.

Gameworks is open from 10 a.m. to midnight on Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The anime club meets at the Clark County Library at 1401 E. Flamingo Road, which also has an anime club for kids 12 and up that meets on the second Saturday of the month at 3 p.m.

Young Persons Library and Children's Services Librarian Carla Lands notes that a gaming club in which kids ages 12-18 will be able to play Xbox and Wii games is set to start very soon, although all the details are still being worked out.

For more information, call 507-3400. The library is open Monday Through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Of course, it's not all fun and games for teens. Homeless Teens can find help and enjoy a little downtime at the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth's Safe Place drop-in center at 4800 S. Maryland Parkway, Suite E. The center is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Finally, the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada at 953 E. Sahara Ave. suite B-31 has a teen drop-in center that features a discussion group on Thursdays from 6 to 7 p.m. for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or advocate teens.

A separate meeting is held from 7 to 8 p.m. for people ages 17-24.

The center's Candice Nichols said "the drop-in part of the center hasn't really caught on yet, but that may change when the drop-in use computers are put in later this month."

On every third Thursday, personnel from the UNLV School of Medicine are on hand to discuss medical issues with the teens.

Nichols notes that many of the teens who attend are very active volunteers in the community.