As the weather warms and the school year winds down, summer break is fast approaching. Families searching for ways to keep kids active will find a variety of camp options in the Leander and Liberty Hill areas.

Leander

Art Barn

• Type: art
• Ages: 6 and up
• Dates: June 2-July 31
• Cost: $390 per week
• 14284 FM 2769, Leander

• Type: arts
• Ages: 4-18
• Dates: June 8-July 31
• Cost: $215 per week
• 1602 SW Drive, Leander

• Type: art, aerial
• Ages: 6-12
• Dates: June 1-Aug. 7
• Cost: $199 per week; Register for three weeks, get one week free; register for five weeks, get two weeks free. Sibling discounts also available.
• 2251 S. Bagdad Road, Ste. 201, Cedar Park; 15050 W. Hwy. 29, Ste. 130, Liberty Hill

Wondering what’s behind lane changes or detours? Check out these transportation updates from city, county and state transportation sources:

Upcoming projects

Freedom River Parkway East

• Project: The project, formerly called the Liberty Hill Bypass East, includes design and construction of two lanes of the new Liberty Hill Bypass from Bagdad Road, also known as CR 279, to Hwy. 29.
• Update: Williamson County is in the final design phase.

• Project: The project will transform Hero Way and RM 2243 into a divided, controlled-access highway from 183A Toll to Southwest Bypass. The existing rural two-lane roadway will be expanded into two main lanes running in each direction alongside two three-lane frontage roads.
• Update: Crews broke ground on the first phase of the project in late January, working to construct the first frontage road from 183A Toll to Garey Park.

• Project: Seven miles of existing road will become northbound only, and a separate two-lane southbound road will be constructed.
• Update: Construction is currently underway.

Austin Community College announced a new partnership with the Round Rock-based Trellis Foundation to create an AI-driven system connecting students to support services, personalizing interventions and preparing students for an economy more prominently featuring AI technologies in day-to-day life. 

What you need to know: ACC Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart said March 11 that this initiative, spearheaded by the community college and Trellis Foundation, will "lean in" to the AI-driven changes in the economy, seeking to meet the moment similar to that of previous large-scale changes, such as the Industrial Revolution or the introduction of computers. 

The initiative is supported by a $3 million federal grant to the ACC Center for Digital Innovation and eEntrepreneurship, which U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett said will be secured by a direct federal appropriation. 

What they're saying: "The question isn't whether AI will shape our future," Lowery-Hart said. "The question is whether higher education will lead in shaping how it's used. We can shape how it's used ethically with humans at the center of it, not in replacement of it."