Hinsdale Safety Village Begins Registration

HINSDALE, IL — Hinsdale Safety Village is registering for its 36th year; and all children living in Hinsdale or Clarendon Hills and/or in School District 181, and entering kindergarten or first grade in the fall are eligible for the program. According to the police department, registration forms will become available at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, April 25 at the Hinsdale Police Department and online at www.villageofhinsdale.org under the Police Department.

Applicants must mail the form with a long self-addressed stamped business envelope and a check made out to Safety Village with the signature of the child’s parent or the form will not be accepted. The department said it is recommended that a second choice for times be made as registration is limited and spaces fill immediately. If you do not hear from the police department, your child is enrolled in the session you requested.

Safety Village is a miniature town with 16 small buildings including a police and fire station, Memorial Building, school, church, burger stand, ice cream parlor, library, hospital and others. The department said there is a real working railroad crossing, lots of familiar signs and four working traffic lights all built to the scale of a small child. The children drive in toy cars throughout the village as they practice the safety
rules for motorists, bicycles and pedestrians.

Lessons in fire, strangers, railroad, toy, playground and water (64 facets in all) are taught with the aid of songs, stories, robots, puppets, movies, crafts, live play characters as well as teachers, police and fire personnel. The department said the goal is to help each child prepare for real life situations by allowing them to experience a simulated experience in Safety Village first.

The Safety Village was donated by the Katie Satkamp Memorial Foundation following a fatal school bus accident of 7-year-old Katie in 1982. The program runs each summer for two weeks; Tuesday, June 11 to Friday, June 22, from either 8:30-10 a.m. or 10:15-11:45 a.m. The fee for the two week program is $108 including a T-shirt.

Image via Hinsdale Police Department.