PORT ANGELES — A former auto repair shop will soon be a place for kids to run, play and learn.

The Clallam County YMCA plans to open a new location at 2026 First St. in Port Angeles in January to host its new program, After the Bell.

The program will combine physical activity with learning and offer classes on anything from rocketry and robotics to gardening for children in kindergarten through sixth grade, said Executive Director Kyle Cronk.

The idea is to encourage healthy lives, Cronk said, adding that children learn better when they are also physically active.

“We’re trying to combat the tripling of childhood obesity in the last 30 years,” he said.

The program will run from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and transportation will be provided from YMCA’s main Port Angeles location at 302 S. Francis St.

The cost will vary, but parents who are YMCA members will pay $150 a month if their child participates every day.

After the Bell will replace the organization’s current child-care program, which will end at the end of the year.

YMCA board member Sean Johnson said After the Bell will be offered at the same price for those enrolled in the child-care program for the rest of the school year.

Also in January, the YMCA will begin offering free memberships to seventh-graders.

Cronk said seventh grade is a “critical time” for children, and the organization can help provide positive role models.

The YMCA needed the new 5,000-square-foot location for After the Bell, he said, because its Francis Street location is becoming too cramped.

He said the organization is leasing the site, now called Y, at the Plaza.

Fundamentally Fit

The children’s workout program, called Fundamentally Fit, will resemble the popular adult workout Crossfit, though less extreme, said Johnson, a Crossfit coach.

He said YMCA members raised $15,000 this summer to buy the equipment for Fundamentally Fit.

Johnson said the program, like Crossfit, focuses on movements peopel do in everyday life. The high-intensity workouts last for 10 to 20 minutes.

The YMCA aims to make the workout fun and will incorporate games children are familiar with, Cronk said.

Johnson said the workouts are tough but will help children realize what they can accomplish.

“You look at it and say, ‘This is going to be tough but I’m going to get through it,’” he said.

“With kids, they take that same thing . . . They apply that same work ethic to their academics.”

In a statement, Port Angeles School District Superintendent Jane Pryne congratulated the YMCA on the new program.

“The Y is uniquely positioned in our community to deliver life-enhancing programs that allow students and families to learn, grow and thrive,” she said.

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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.