by by Borden Black
Art at the Turner Center
Remember the lazy days of summer? They are no more. Kids are used to constant activity: school, athletics, arts classes and such. When the summer rolls around they still want to be active and with two working parents in most households there is a need for a place for the kids to go.
Whether your child is an artist, athlete or scholar there is a summer program in Columbus just right for him or her. Most of these programs have one thing in common — they are designed to be educational as well as fun.
Columbus State University is the most prolific provider of meaningful summertime activities in the area.
Programs at the Turner Center for Continuing Education run the gamut, with so many offerings available a catalog is needed. Marketing Director Kristin Barker says their week-long programs are designed to provide children with a fun, learning experience and give parents a safe alternative for their kids. “If they want to explore different areas, then the Turner Center may be the way to go,” says Barker. “They can dabble in different things if they don’t have one direction.”
One of the most popular offerings last year was CSI camp, which looks at forensics and uses actual crime scene techniques like fingerprinting and handwriting analysis. Attendees are presented a mystery they have to solve. For kids who like to dig in the dirt, there is the “Backyard and Beanstalks Gardening Camp.” Master gardeners help teach the sessions. Another program called “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” exposes kids to banking. The basics of cooking as well as manners are taught in “Food Mania.” If you can’t schedule a week-long experience, the Turner Center also has all kinds of classes from foreign language to juggling.
The University’s athletic department also has a full summer of sports planned for your kids. Soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, cheerleading, dance and golf camps are scheduled. Director Jimbo Davis says Columbus State’s coaches and staff do the teaching. For instance, for cheerleading camp the coach and all 38 cheerleaders come in and work. During all the athletic sessions the coaches provide fundamentals, then break up the campers and do hands on drills. Davis says the sessions are broken out by age group and ability so they are challenging for every camper. “We put a personal touch to our camps,” Davis said. “The coaches see them as future athletes at the collegiate level. They know that those active in sports and clubs are better students. We see it as complementing education.”
Your child not into outdoor activities? Maybe the Rankin Center has what you’re looking for. This year’s theme is “Picture yourself at the Rankin Arts Center.” The arts explorer camp serves as an introduction to the arts. According to Ann Marie Bills, program support manager, it is a comprehensive kind of camp with visual arts in the morning and either dance or creative movement, music and theater in the afternoon. Each week a famous visual artist, starting with Picasso, will be used as inspiration.
The Springer’s Summer Academy has a waiting list, but there is an option for the aspiring actor. Rankin Arts has a musical theater camp. It was so popular last year they had to add a second session. Kids learn theatrical skills and stage a performance at end of the three weeks. There is also a camp for the ‘tweens — sculpture and artists’ series camps. “Summer seems to be our rock and roll time,” said Bills of the summer program.
CSU also has plenty for the child explorers both on the ground and in the sky. It’s the third year for the Earth Skills Camp at Oxbow Meadows. Children learn to use Stone Age cookery and how to start a fire with sticks among other things. Coordinator of Wildlife, Trails and Grounds Jim Trostle says the fun relates to environment and awareness of the world around them, “Kids will preserve things they understand,” he explained.
There are about 10 different camps at the Coca-Cola Space Science Center that will take kids into the stratosphere figuratively if not literally. There are a variety of activities broken down by age group. Assistant Director Larry Pallotta says the staff, comprised of teachers, stimulates the children’s interest in science and astronomy with field trips, hands on activities and flying missions in the learning center.
Oxbow, the Space Science Center and the Math Collaborative are teaming up for a special camp that allows attendees to explore the environment then space using science and math.
The Math Collaborative has its own series of camps that director Kenneth Jones characterizes as fun. “They do math without realizing it, so its doesn’t seem like school,” he said. The sessions focus on participatory activities using math and science. The programs are designed for any child, not necessarily those who are great at math. “It generates an interest in kids who are not gifted in math and in fact may motivate kids who have not seen the usefulness of math,” explained Jones.
You can get details about all the CSU summer programs by calling the continuing education department at 706-568-2023 or going on line at www.conted.colstate.edu
There are other special interest camps outside the university system. Port Columbus has an unusual School of the Sailor Summer Camp, now in its fourth year. It teaches kids some of the skills that a sailor in the 19th century would have had to know, such as knot tying, drills and rowing. Director of Education and Programs Matthew Young says many of the activities are both educational and social. “For instance, the drill on cannon firing is a team building skill,” he said. “It teaches them to cooperate, to work together.” Campers get an activity book, t-shirt uniform and at graduation, awards are presented in various areas. More information on this camp can be obtained at 706-327-9798 or www.portcolumbus.org.
The Columbus Museum offers three camps. Art Magic is for the young child, allowing him to explore a variety of media and processes. For the 7 to 12-year-olds, Glass Art Adventures allows them to discover the many facets of glass art. ARTifacts explores the exhibition “William Morris: Myth, Object and the Animal” and uses hands-on activities and projects to understand how archaeologists learn about ancient cultures. For more information call the museum at 706-748- 2562 or go online at www.columbusmuseum.com.
There are also more general camps that last the entire summer. The Turner and McClung branches of the local YMCA both provide summer camps that offer outdoor games, board games, field trips, movies and other activities. There are also specialty programs for swimming, tennis, basketball, volleyball, cheerleading, dance and gymnastics. Call 706-563-7001 for information about Turner Center programs and for the McClung Center call 706-322-2579.
The Columbus Parks and Recreation Summer Camps are held at Blanchard and Eastway Elementary Schools. The summer-long sessions include swimming, arts and crafts, field trips and indoor and outdoor games. The city has been offering the programs for 15 years and directors say the kids learn about other cultures through the diversified staff. Go to the parks and recreation department on the Columbus government web site or call 706-225-4658 for more information.
For 68 years the Boys and Girls clubs have been offering a summer program. “We want to try and provide safe, fun activities during the summer months when kids out of school and parents are struggling for things for them to do, “ explained Vice-president of Operations Brian Fitzpatrick. Courses in character and leadership, health and life skills, arts, sports and fitness are provided during the nine weeks. Fitzpatrick remembers going to the summer program as a kid. “It helped me in life and I made lifelong friends.” Three facilities offer programs: North Columbus: 1309 29th St., 706-323-1743; East Columbus: 1429 Morris Road, 706-561-0938 and Columbus South: 3200 Cusseta Road, 706-689-3645. You can sign up at the center you wish to attend.
All summer camps are accepting applications now with fees varying from more than $200 a week to $55 a week.
