GRAND JUNCTION, Colo (KKCO) Whether it's one weekend a month or a year-long deployment, kids of military families are often separated from their parents, not knowing where they are or what they're doing. The Colorado Army National Guard is helping kids understand what their parents do in uniform by hosting the first ever "military youth day."The event features a gun simulator station, climbing ropes, prizes and much more. A free lunch will be provided by the American Red Cross from their emergency response vehicle.

"The event is for kids to come down and get to see what their mom and dad does; for the guard it would be a drill weekend; for active duty it would be what their parents go and do every day; and then a little bit of what parents might experience when they're going through a deployment," says Danielle Hindson, Family Assistance Specialist with the Colorado Army National Guard.

The free event is this Saturday, July 21st, from 9am to 3pm at the Family Readiness Center. That's 2820 Riverside Parkway, next to the Veteran's Cemetery in Grand Junction.

Families of all active duty branches, reserves, national guard, and veterans are welcome.

For more information, contact Laurie Burke at (720) 250-1412 or laurie.burke@us.army.mil, or Danielle Hindson at (720) 250-5571, or danielle.hindson@us.army.mil.