The next time you fly out of the Roanoke, VA airport be sure to spend a few minutes playing around on the new interactive, touch-screen kiosk.

Designed to raise awareness for what most of us already know, the kiosk aims to showcase the diverse outdoor recreation opportunities found within the Roanoke Region. Users can navigate through LAND (biking, hiking, camping, etc.), WATER (canoeing, kayaking, fishing, etc.), GUIDES, TRIP IDEAS, and more as they learn about one of Roanoke's greatest assets, the outdoors.

"Now a days when people fly they rarely check bags. And when they do, they spend their time staring at the baggage carousel waiting for their bags to appear. Rarely do they spend this time looking at promotional material" says Pete Eshelman of the Roanoke Regional Partnership. "That is why we chose to place this kiosk on the gate side of security. Travelers are stuck there for at least 30 minutes waiting for their flight to board, and our hope is that they'll use some of this extra time to learn why Roanoke is such a great place to live, work, and play."

So, the next time you fly, test out the kiosk, then come back to RoanokeOutside.com and post your comments on how to improve it.

Today children ages six to ten spend an average of four hours in the front of a television screen every day but less than four minutes of unstructured outdoor play.  Is it any wonder why our obesity rate continues to increase along with impaired social skills?

Gone are the days when a kid would throw a backpack over his/her shoulder, say "see you later Mom", and then head outside where they would spend the day getting dirty.  Kids don't have the free time they used to have. For the majority of children, time is spent in school and participating in after-school programs/activities.  

Fear not though, it's never too late to connect your kids with the outdoors, and summer camps are a great way to do it...and you don't have to go far to find some great quality camps (click here for a list of local outdoor summer camps).

Summer camp offers kids the opportunity to try something new -- zip lines, rock climbing, canoeing, backpacking, and more; they'l learn appropriate risk taking, supervised by outdoor enthusiasts and professionals. They'll make new friends, and gain independence - they'll have so much fun they won't miss the TV and video games.

Many summer camps host  an "open house", a perfect opportunity for you to meet the camp staff, ask questions, and see the facilities.  Below are a few that we know of, but most will open its doors to you at anytime, just ask.

Upcoming Open Houses Offered:

• May 28 - Camp Bethel 
• April 9 -  Wilderness Adventure 
• April 9 -  Camp Roanoke