03/Apr/2008
What are your kids doing this summer?
Unique Camps Spark Curiosity And Cure the Boredom Blues
By Summer Suleiman
Your summer campers can venture into something new and wild this summer. Aside from the many typical summer camps, Baton Rouge offers kids the chance to explore some very exciting new worlds.
For example, campers can delve into the discovery world with LSU’S Forensic Science Camp. Students with backgrounds in chemistry or biology are encouraged to join. It offers two sessions, the advanced session and the basic session. The advanced session allows students to explore toxicology, trace evidence, document analysis, hand-writing and crime-scene analysis.
The basic session is just as enthralling. Students have a chance to dive into the investigation world of finger-printing, hair and fiber analysis, foot prints, DNA analysis and blood spatter evidence.
Shannon Carlson, coordinator of these classes, is excited to give students the opportunity to work with some of the best teachers and facilities.
“We bring students together from all different educational backgrounds to learn the best of what Baton Rouge and Louisiana has to offer,” Carlson said.
Back in Time
Campers even have the chance to see what the world was like before digital entertainment and video games. Blast from the Past Summer Camp offers a week of old-fashioned fun with activities like churning ice cream, walking on stilts and making crafts.
The camp hosts a different theme each year and this summer the theme will be: “Every Vote Counts: Election Year 2008.” Campers will work hand-in-hand with professionals, artists and story-tellers to campaign for historic Louisiana politicians.
Jeannie Luckett, education curator for Blast from the Past Summer Camp, said some kids don’t even realize that many games they play have been around since the 19th century.
“I love for the kids to be away from computers for a little bit and learn where things come from. I like them to use their imagination,” Luckett said.
Out of this World
The fun extends from Earth to the solar system with BREC’s Stargazer’s Day Camp. Students build miniature versions of the telescope Galileo used when he first saw Jupiter. They even do their own special viewing of the stars through a real telescope.
The camp is filled with other activities such as scavenger hunts, watching documentaries on rocket launchings and a trip to the Louisiana Art and Science Museum. Students also have the chance to participate in talks on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and lectures featuring special guests every Friday.
Chris Kersey, manager of the BREC Observatory says the camp’s mission is to show students that science is not just a bundle of facts, but a process. “When you go outside and look up at the stars, what you see isn’t just it. The sky changes every night. We try to instill in our campers that the stars are like us. The live, grow and die,” Kersey said.
Vacation Camps With Values
University Baptist Church has served the Baton Rouge area by providing fun and safe summer camps since 2002. Some of the camp activities are swim lessons with the YMCA, gymnastics, cooking, sign language, and off-site field trips.
Each year includes a different theme. Some past themes are Pirates of the Caribbean, Under the Sea and Camp Christmas, a popular one among campers. Every summer wraps up with a huge end-of-summer party.
Meredith Wartelle, director and coordinator of the University Baptist Church Summer Camp said the camp is enriched with experienced counselors, a low camper-counselor ratio, and vacation Bible school.
“It’s a fun, Christian atmosphere, and the children really do enjoy the activities,” Wartelle said.
L’epoque Coloniale: The Colonial Era
Louisiana is filled with French influence and history. Campers at the BREC Magnolia Mound Plantation Camp have a chance to relive this colonial era.
Special guests include a blacksmith, carpenter and bee keeper. Campers will also cook a Creole breakfast in an open-hearth kitchen and make bousillage, a natural insulation used in the walls of traditional Cajun dwellings.
Jenny Poulter, education curator, said children have time to do things they love, like weaving. “Kids are so rushed these days, and it’s hard for them to sit down and finish something. But they love weaving, and they do it for hours,” Poulter said.
Unique Camps Spark Curiosity And Cure the Boredom Blues
By Summer Suleiman
Your summer campers can venture into something new and wild this summer. Aside from the many typical summer camps, Baton Rouge offers kids the chance to explore some very exciting new worlds. For example, campers can delve into the discovery world with LSU’S Forensic Science Camp. Students with backgrounds in chemistry or biology are encouraged to join. It offers two sessions, the advanced session and the basic session. The advanced session allows students to explore toxicology, trace evidence, document analysis, hand-writing and crime-scene analysis.
The basic session is just as enthralling. Students have a chance to dive into the investigation world of finger-printing, hair and fiber analysis, foot prints, DNA analysis and blood spatter evidence.
Shannon Carlson, coordinator of these classes, is excited to give students the opportunity to work with some of the best teachers and facilities.
“We bring students together from all different educational backgrounds to learn the best of what Baton Rouge and Louisiana has to offer,” Carlson said.
Back in Time
Campers even have the chance to see what the world was like before digital entertainment and video games. Blast from the Past Summer Camp offers a week of old-fashioned fun with activities like churning ice cream, walking on stilts and making crafts.
The camp hosts a different theme each year and this summer the theme will be: “Every Vote Counts: Election Year 2008.” Campers will work hand-in-hand with professionals, artists and story-tellers to campaign for historic Louisiana politicians.
Jeannie Luckett, education curator for Blast from the Past Summer Camp, said some kids don’t even realize that many games they play have been around since the 19th century.
“I love for the kids to be away from computers for a little bit and learn where things come from. I like them to use their imagination,” Luckett said.
Out of this World
The fun extends from Earth to the solar system with BREC’s Stargazer’s Day Camp. Students build miniature versions of the telescope Galileo used when he first saw Jupiter. They even do their own special viewing of the stars through a real telescope.
The camp is filled with other activities such as scavenger hunts, watching documentaries on rocket launchings and a trip to the Louisiana Art and Science Museum. Students also have the chance to participate in talks on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and lectures featuring special guests every Friday.
Chris Kersey, manager of the BREC Observatory says the camp’s mission is to show students that science is not just a bundle of facts, but a process. “When you go outside and look up at the stars, what you see isn’t just it. The sky changes every night. We try to instill in our campers that the stars are like us. The live, grow and die,” Kersey said.
Vacation Camps With ValuesUniversity Baptist Church has served the Baton Rouge area by providing fun and safe summer camps since 2002. Some of the camp activities are swim lessons with the YMCA, gymnastics, cooking, sign language, and off-site field trips.
Each year includes a different theme. Some past themes are Pirates of the Caribbean, Under the Sea and Camp Christmas, a popular one among campers. Every summer wraps up with a huge end-of-summer party.
Meredith Wartelle, director and coordinator of the University Baptist Church Summer Camp said the camp is enriched with experienced counselors, a low camper-counselor ratio, and vacation Bible school.
“It’s a fun, Christian atmosphere, and the children really do enjoy the activities,” Wartelle said.
L’epoque Coloniale: The Colonial Era
Louisiana is filled with French influence and history. Campers at the BREC Magnolia Mound Plantation Camp have a chance to relive this colonial era.
Special guests include a blacksmith, carpenter and bee keeper. Campers will also cook a Creole breakfast in an open-hearth kitchen and make bousillage, a natural insulation used in the walls of traditional Cajun dwellings.
Jenny Poulter, education curator, said children have time to do things they love, like weaving. “Kids are so rushed these days, and it’s hard for them to sit down and finish something. But they love weaving, and they do it for hours,” Poulter said.
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