BRIEFS
Keiki Fair coming to exhibit hall

Keiki Fair 2002 is coming Aug. 10-11 to the Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall.

Free for children age 18 and younger, the Keiki Fair will offer a huge dress-up party, magicians, talk-story contests, a sing-along, clowns and entertainment. There will also be speakers, authors and booths exhibiting wares and resource materials in this, the first resource trade show for both providers and participants of children's programs, services and products.

Admission is $5 for adults. The hours for the Keiki Fair will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 10, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 11.

For more information, phone 255-4710.

Grandparents come into focus

To celebrate Grandparents Day, the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center is calling on kids to submit a photo of themselves with any or all of their grandparents.

Include a short essay on why Grandma or Grandpa (or both) are special to you and your submission may be one of three winners for a camera and a free grandparents membership to the center. The three winners will be chosen in a random drawing.

The Children's Discovery Center will create the "Celebrating Grandparents" photo exhibit just in time for Grandparents' Day, Sept. 29. Admission to the center, a private, not-for-profit Kaka'ako Waterfront Park museum with interactive exhibits, is $6.75 for children 2-17 and $8 for adults. Hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends.

For more information: 524-5437.

38% of U.S. teens now carry phones

Thirty-eight percent of teenagers nationwide have cell phones, up from 20 percent in late 2000. The average age when children get cell phones dropped from 16 a few years ago to 13 or 14, said Michael Wood, vice president of Teenage Research Unlimited in Illinois.

"It's becoming easier and easier to make the argument why a teenager should have one," Wood said. "I think the typical teen would argue that they want the cell phone so they can stay connected to their friends. Their parents agree so that they can stay connected with their teens."

For the most part, cell phones seem to serve their purpose in families. Teens interviewed said they feel safer and that they enjoy the increased freedom that tends to be granted when parents know their children can be reached at all times.