We can't wait for this one! On Thursday, November 12, we'll stage our first-ever AI Family Night at the TCA. Alongside the excellent new documentary, Screenagers: Generation AI, we'll hear from our Youth AI Committee talking all about how Taos teens use AI, and things families, teachers, and more need to know... Bring your Questions! As always, tickets and popcorn are free. Reserve your spot here.
AI Family Night
Gorge Bridge Art Contest
Now open to all K-12 students in Taos County is our Gorge Bridge Art Contest. Draw, sketch, charcoal, paint, fingerpaint, animate, illustrate, collage, use popsicle sticks or even create 3D models to capture the Bridge's one-of-a-kind beauty. Submit as classrooms to win a Pizza Party. Submit as individuals to win cash prizes -- the Grand Prize is $250 and winning entries will be featured on a big new sign at the Bridge's Rest Area. More here!
TK1 is now enrolling for all our after-school programs... check out our website for more. Free food. Job training. Hourly stipends. AMAZING instructors and top-quality gear. What are you waiting for??
After-School: ENROLLING!
The Teen Wellness Festival
Join us on Sunday, June 28 for the Teen Wellness Festival at Red Willow Park (2-6pm). We’ve run an after-school Mental Health group that has provided direct feedback on the new Navi app, customized for Taos and NM teens to help them create action plans to navigate everyday challenges. The Festival is going to be awesome — food, music, games and more. Join us!
Join us for our "Home" Media Contest on Tuesday, May 12 2026 at the TCA. What does “home” mean to you? In video and photography, come witness how our youth express the magical moments, sights, sounds, tastes, and scenes that make their house a home, that make Taos their home.
The "Home" Media Contest
Digital Balance Initiative
We’re thrilled to announce our brand-new Outdoor Digital Detox Program. With almost $40k in funding from the Outdoor Equity Fund from NM’s Outdoor Recreation Division, this launches in June with eight days of 100% free Summer Camp, with pre-holiday intensives to follow throughout the school year. We’re super grateful to the ORD for this opportunity to teach our youth how to smartly swap screen time for adventures in the great outdoors…
This now gives us three distinct digital-health programs: Kids, Screens & Phones (lessons on digital helth for classrooms), Parents, Screens & Phones (a print book coming soon), and now our Outdoor Digital Detox Program. Did you know we're the only nonprofit in NM with digital-health programming?
TK1 Summer Camps
This summer, TK1 is offering four different one-week camps. Each runs Monday-Friday, 9am - 4pm, starting June 1, 2026. Every Friday is a Pizza Party! Thanks to a grant from the state's Public Education Department, this year our camps are 100% free!!! Camps:
- Planet Taos: Wildlife & Action Photography and Video. Lead Instructor: Pete Monro. June 1-5.
- The Triple Threat: Acting, Singing, Dancing. Lead Instructor: Kiki Siebenaler. June 8-12.
- Ready. Set. Magic! Lead Instructor: Dani Cervantes. June 15-19.
- The Outdoor Digital Detox Camp. Lead Instructors: Madison Davis and Sandy Campbell. June 22-26.
Click here for more info. Registration is CLOSED but you can waitlist.
The TK1 Flip Phone Challenge
The TK1 Flip Phone Challenge was a 10-day adventure in January 2026, with 17 Taos high school students swapping smartphones for flip phones. What happens when they don’t have apps, regular access to social media, or constant notifications? How does this change how they chill, hangout with friends, workout, focus, sleep, and otherwise fill their free time?
Join us on Tuesday, February 10th at Taos Lifestyle at 5:30pm to see video of their unique journey, and to hear from kids on stage.
TK1 Testimonials
Listen to some of our current students wax poetic about us! If only we'd had a TK1 when we were kids... 'Tis the Giving Season so have a look and support TK1 if you can!
Community Rally for Accountability @ The Gorge Bridge
On Friday, December 12, 2025, the TK1 Youth Council and Help Outreach Taos organized our second rally out at the Gorge Bridge. Following a moment of silence at 12:12pm, we heard from former presidents of the after-school TK1 Youth Council and then the Department of Transportation's Secretary, Ricky Serna. With thanks for funding support from the Taos Community Foundation.
Announcing TK1 Studios -- our new, in-house and dedicated photography studio. We specialize in portraiture, perfect for back-to-school or graduation photos... up first are our Mini Sessions. You get 15 minutes in our studio and seven edited photos for $50.
2026-27 OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME PROGRAMS
Monday–Friday 9-6pm*
Our out-of-school time (OST) programs are drop-in, hands-on, project-based and ALWAYS FREE mentorship events. They run 49 weeks a year all day long, ideal for ACE and off periods. We believe in throwing together our instructors, our resources (from laptops to our Production Studio) to YOU, giving it a shake and a stir, and see what happens! Come join the fun.
Our newest innovation? Come and do absolutely nothing. Put your feet up, have something to eat. Connect with friends. Laugh and unwind. Put your phone down and unwind.
Want more info? Drop us a text at 575-425-0222 or better yet, come by in person!
Formal Classes (3-6pm)
Mondays: Animation.
Tuesdays: Podcasting.
Wednesdays: Intro to Photography.
Thursdays: Social Media.
Informal Classes
Every day we welcome teens working on their own projects, in video, photography, social media, digital balance, AI, and more. We mentor, suggest, provide feedback, connect with the community, and more.
Digital Balance Wellness Groups
Lead Instructor: Sandy Campbell
What do you wish you'd known about the Internet when you were 12 years old?
Video/Photo Lab. Tues Weds Thurs
Lead Instructor: Pete Monro
Want to be a filmmaker? A social media star? Learn your craft.
8th Grade +
Space Program. CEO Fridays
Lead Instructor: Dr. Jordan Alexander
An invitation-only, self-driven program for THS seniors. Hands-on learning = building satellites for high-altitude balloon launch.
Youth Council.
Lead Instructor: Sandy Campbell
An ad-hoc group that meets when there are major local issues to address or approaching elections
Relax and Chill. EVERY DAY
Lead Instructor: Nobody!
So long as you're not on your phone too much, you are welcome to come here and relax, eat, and meet friends.
VIDEO SPOTLIGHT
Albertsons Parking Lot
In this excellent short piece, we see where Taos teens really choose to gather -- at the Albertson's Parking Lot. Shot by incoming President of the TK1 Youth Council, Lucy Schreiber.
PIECES OF TAOS: A MEDIA CONTEST
THIS WAS A BIG ONE!
What an amazing event our Pieces of Taos Youth Media Extravaganza was! We gave away over $5k in prize money to middle- and high-school students across Taos County for the top entries exploring the people, places, and things in our magical community. Best in Show went to two young filmmakers who explored Mante's Chow Cart!
VIDEO SPOTLIGHT
THE FUTURE OF OUR BRIDGE
In this fascinating short doc, the outgoing President of the TK1 Youth Council, Angie Burns Diaz, investigates the duality of the Gorge Bridge -- on the one hand a thing of scenic beauty, on the other a suicide destination. What should we do to address the future of this iconic bridge?
PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT
KIDS, SCREENS & PHONES
How can we guide our children to better balance in their online lives? Our near-peer model of teens talking with K-8 kids about apps, privacy, screen addictions and more is now live across Taos.
With support from the NM Google Kids Initiative
and the Keeler Foundation
INITIATIVES
Future Dialogues
A major initiative of the
TK1 Youth Council
These are formal events convened at the Taos Center for the Arts (TCA), featuring food, photographs, podcasts, and then student video investigating aspects of our collective future. These have been:
- The Future of our Water. Dec 2022
- The Future of our Food. May 2023
- The Future of our Forests. Dec 2023
- The Future of our Community. May 2024
In December 2022, eleven student videos explored The Future of our Water.
In May 2023, student videos asked: what is the Future of our Food? In December 2023, we asked, what is the Future of our Forests? And in May 2024: The Future of our Community
In-School Programs
During the school year, TK1 has a robust set of in-school programs.
Every classroom has its own media-and-technology projects. TK1 staff work directly with teachers across northern NM to design an approach that satisfies specific and tailored learning objectives.
After-School Programs
When school is in session, TK1 offers after-school instruction in media and technology.
Call or text us to see what's a fit for you: 575-425-0222. Or drop an email: admin@truekids1.org
