The City of Lynwood is constantly working to engage their community, particularly youth and teens. They sought an interactive way to engage a wide age range of their citizens, and incentivize them to explore and learn in nature.
The City of Lynwood uses multiple strategies to engage youth of different ages with their Missions. This includes offering a variety of rewards, fostering youth’s spirit of competition, and – most importantly – tasking younger staff members with Mission creation. These young staff can easily relate to teens and engage them with Missions. Daniel Mijangos, Recreation Specialist at Lucy Avalos Community Center, says: “Younger staff have opened doors to new ideas. Sometimes they think about more trends and connect with the kids in that way. They mention things and the ideas get stuck in your head.” He says it has been helpful for the younger staff to create Missions that can engage players of all ages.
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“Once they get the chance to build the Mission, it can be their point of pride, they’re excited to build and expand and personalize.”
John Thornton
Recreation Coordinator
Avalos Community Center
Lynwood Recreation and Community Services – Parks & Playgrounds
Another strategy the City of Lynwood is trying out is letting teens create their own Missions and playing them with friends.
The City of Lynwood is looking into new ways of personalizing Missions to make them more socially engaging.
“With Agents of Discovery as a whole, you’re able to do so much, including with special events. There’s no cost, kids have fun, and it’s an additional feature that draws people in, especially for camps. I know the features in the app are upgrading, and that gives it the wow factor that kids live for. You guys keep building and building, and the kids love it.”
Daniel Mijangos
Recreation Specialist
Avalos Community Center
Lynwood Recreation and Community Services – Parks & Playgrounds
Check out the City of Lynwood’s video about their Black History Month Mission, which was created and promoted by teen staff members and players.