More than 800 Renton School District elementary kids were corralled in the Family Fun Center and Bullwinkle’s Restaurant Tuesday morning preparing to enjoy their reward for participating in the district’s Reading Buddies program.

The program pairs older students with younger students to foster reading skills. Before the students were allowed to enjoy the Family Fun Center’s video and interactive games with unlimited play access, they had to hear the rules and get a congratulatory message from district and fun center staff.

The kids wiggled and pointed, wiggled and pointed some more at the games, all the while talking in excited voices and squealing enough to almost drown out the speakers on the microphone. Once released, the beehive of excitement dispersed in all directions, all over the complex.

“It’s always exciting because a number of students wouldn’t have the opportunity to come here,” said Susan Mather, district chief academic officer. “It’s an opportunity for the kids to have a good time and be rewarded for their reading all year long.”

She called the Family Fun Center’s donation of free admission, which amounts to more than $35,000, “incredibly generous.” Mather was appreciative of the fun center’s and Bob Bridge’s support for the past four years coordinating this celebration to support reading in the district.

Bridge, who owned Bob Bridge Toyota in Renton until he retired, approached the Family Fun Center four years ago and asked for help supporting the Reading Buddies program. Bridge has contributed more than $9,000 to purchase about 800 books in years past. This year Scholastic publishing company provided about $3,000 in discounts to allow the district to purchase more books.

“We think that Bob Bridge and Dr. Heuschel, they had a shared vision for Renton schools; it’s amazing how far the district has come,” said Pasquel Terwillegar, center assistant general manager.

Mary Alice Heuschel is the former superintendent of the Renton School District.

Terwillegar said that it’s not like the Family Fun Center is changing the world, but if it can change a couple of students, then the effort is well worth it.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, the Family Fun Center was to host two groups of more than 800 students and one group of close to 700. The facility can host up to 2,500 at one time.

Supporting community events and causes like the Reading Buddies program is not new to the amusement park and arcade. On a smaller scale, the center gives out about 50 donations a month to church groups. The center has also opened its doors to special visits for special needs students in the Kent and Issaquah school districts, an autistic group and a youth program created by Seattle Seahawk Russell Okung.

“We do what we can,” said Terwillegar. “We try to kind of touch lives where we can. Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference.”

The Family Fun Center is part of a U.S. park chain that’s headquartered in Tukwila. It is a family owned and operated business, started by the Huish family. Their philosophy is to have fair and honest dealings in family entertainment at a safe family friendly location, Terwillegar said.

“We’re definitely a family; we play off one another,” Rich Yee, general manager, said of the center’s 150 employees.

About 70 to 80 percent of the staff are 16- to 18-year-olds, who just years ago were fifth-graders visiting the fun center. Yee said employees are mentored at the center and some former staff are graduating from college now.

He admits it’s a bit of work, working with all the wee customers to make sure the guests have a good time, but he said the family atmosphere is created from the top down. “You have to love it; we’re very committed to the fun center,” Yee said.

The center hasn’t had security issues in the last 14 years and Terwillegar attributes that to having a police officer on daily duty. The security presence is important, Terwillegar and Yee said, because it gives the guests peace of mind and makes them feel safe.

The scene was anything but peaceful on Tuesday morning, as students darted around the facility, completely engaged in the many attractions. Fifth-grader Alexa Marie Whitehead-Fisher called the reward trip  “awesome.”

“A bunch of the fourth-graders right now are taking tests,” she said of her peers back at Cascade Elementary. “I feel kind of lucky, while they’re taking tests, I’m just hanging out at the Family Fun Center.”

But Whitehead-Fisher and all the other students earned their right to hangout at the center. Students in the Reading Buddies program have read more than 100,000 books in one year to get free access to the fun park.