Just opened in December 2005, the downtown Detroit Boll Family YMCA is remarkable.

Not only does it have the typical Y amenities, this shiny new facility houses a large theater, a 38-foot climbing wall, running track, massage therapy, a day care center, and a separate locker room for families and those with special needs.

You'll find classes in dance, spinning, martial arts, aerobics, aquatics, rowing, and too many more to list. Any current YMCA membership can be upgraded to include the Boll facility.

Some unique (for Ys) programs are offered as well, such as those in web design, photography, ceramics, and African dance.

Rent the center for birthday parties or other events. Contact the center directly for details and membership prices.

Camp Mirage is a summer day camp program that offers 29 different sessions, from flag football, babysitting and cheerleading, to street hockey, girl power, and wilderness trek. Children can be signed up for one week or the whole summer. A junior camp program is available for kids ages four to six.

Sessions run from mid-June to the end of August. Before and after care is available.

Children's Hospital, located in downtown Detroit, is a large hospital solely devoted to children. It staffs more than 200 pediatricians, 125 pediatric specialists, and 600 pediatric nurses.

The hospital has kid-friendly emergency rooms and playrooms, activity centers, computer labs, and classrooms on every floor. It offers babysitting classes, car seat safety checks, and other safety and prevention education.

Children's Pediatric Mobile Team and School Mobile Health Center travels around southeastern Michigan to provide onsite medical care to families.

Cool facts: It was Canadian Club whiskey man Hiram Walker who moved the hospital from a mere group of rented houses and barns to a professional facility. After losing his 13-year-old daughter Jennie, he donated a new building at St. Antoine and Farnsworth to Children's Hospital.

The building is the former home of the Russell Alger family. Built in 1910 in the Italian Renaissance style, it was called "The Moorings." In the 1930s, the building was used as a branch of the Detroit Institute of Arts. In 1949, it was donated to the community to serve as a perpetual memorial to veterans and as a continuing center for educational and charitable activities of the Grosse Pointe community.

Today the Grosse Pointe War Memorial is home to enrichment classes, cultural festivals, and dozens of weddings and banquets each year. Children's offerings include summer theater and science camps, babysitter courses, ballet workshops, and much more. The venue houses a large ballroom, auditorium, arts and communication center, and has absolutely spectacular views of Lake St. Clair.

A wonderful resource for Oakland County residents, The Community House offers numerous programs for families, including a daycare center, classes, workshops, and day camps.

The Early Childhood Center provides full-time, play-based daycare opportunities for infants through preschoolers.

A large variety of classes includes infant massage, tumbling, ballet and jazz dancing, and babysitter courses. Creative series that combine play time with music and puppetry include "Sing & Moove with Rita & Candy Cow," "Play and Make Music with Marie Kennedy and the Pasta Pals," and Kindermusik sessions.

Theatre camps are offered to children in grades three and up. There is a fencing camp for kids ages seven to 15, and girls' social skills camps are given by the Girls Empowered organization.

Through its programs and services for women and children, the YWCA of Metropolitan Detroit works to eliminate racism and empower women. The organization addresses a variety of basic, immediate needs for safety, shelter, food, and clothing, as well as longer term needs for affordable housing.

The YWCA Downriver provides quality childcare programs through its outreach programs, including before and after school, and school break and summer camps.

Summer Camps: Summer Kiddie Camps are for those 2 1/2 to 5 years old, Summer Day Camps are geared toward those in grades 1-5, and Summer Junior Counselor Camps (which includes babysitter training and CPR courses) are great for those in grades 6-9. All are located at St. John United Church of Christ in Wyandotte and Huron High School in Huron Township.

School Break Care: Grosse Ile and Wyandotte parents can take advantage of the program's offering of child care during winter and spring breaks. Latchkey is also available.

Mom & Tot and Discovery Camp: The YWCA has teamed up with the Grosse Isle Recreation Department to provide two programs: Mom & Tot is for parents and preschoolers to learn through fun play and music; for elementary school kids, Discovery Camp, held at Centennial Farm, is a five-week summer program that focuses on the study of nature and the outdoors.

For Huron Township residents, YWCA recreation programs abound. Held at various places throughout the community, there are classes for kids (cheerleading, dance, horseback riding, and karate) and adults (ballroom dance, exercise and fitness, hunter safety, scrapbooking, self-defense, yoga, and more).

Contact the YWCA Downriver Outreach program for specific locations, membership information, and camp and class fees.