Camp Spotlights: Entertain the kids with hands-on summer camps
These camps offer more than just a playground or daycare for kids. They can have fun while exploring engineering, theater and more.
College Experience
University of Akron camp helps girls learn engineering.
Engineering doesn’t have to be a daunting field for students.
“You don’t come out of the womb knowing math. Everyone learns it in school. The same is true of engineering,” says Heidi Cressman, the director of diversity and inclusion in the University of Akron’s College of Engineering and Polymer Science. “Some kids have no exposure to it. So [STEM camps] are a great way to get exposure to these fields at a young age.”
The University of Akron’s “Multiply Your Options” day camp is geared toward seventh- and eighth-grade girls interested in exploring the different engineering fields. Each day is different, with focuses corresponding to the university’s five major engineering degrees: mechanical, electrical, chemical, civil and biomedical.
“We sprinkle in some aerospace systems, corrosion engineering and computer engineering because we offer those,” Cressman adds, “but we focus on the five big ones, primarily.”
Middle school kids start the day with a lecture, about 30 to 45 minutes long, from a faculty member and are led through a hands-on project. Then they get to observe engineering in action.
“After lunch, we usually go on a company tour related to that particular major,” Cressman says. “If we’re studying civil engineering that day, we try to take a tour on a civil engineering site with a local company that we partner with.”
The kids also work on a week-long engineering design project in the late afternoon, like building cardboard pinball machines. “The kids design and build their own game boards ... to include hazards and can even wire lights and alarm buzzers.”
The goal, Cressman says, is to influence the kids’ coursework going into high school.
“In a perfect world, we would introduce this sort of thing to even younger girls. But in seventh and eighth grade, you can influence the coursework they’re getting ready to take in high school by introducing them to camps like this,” she says. “I think this age, and even a little younger, is ideal for helping make some career decisions a little earlier on.”
The University of Akron also offers a camp for high school girls called “Summer Experience in Engineering,” which is similar to the middle school camp, but is more advanced and involves staying on campus the whole week. The kids work on projects that are more complicated and in-depth.
“They work with a professor, and we try to give them more of an experience like what they’re going to have in college by working in a lab environment,” Cressman says.
One of the highlights is that the high school campers get to build a robot to bolster their knowledge of computer engineering. “We have an LED display the kids learn to program,” Cressman says. “And then they program the LED to light up in a specific way to make it say, I love you, for example.”
Cressman says her own college experiences have inspired her to teach more girls engineering and math skills.
“When I went here as a student, there were so few women choosing engineering as a career. There was nothing like this for girls,” she says. “So whatever I can do to encourage the next generation, I’m all about it.”
For more information, visit uakron.edu/engineering/k12-programs.
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Creative Blast
Canton camp combines outdoor fun and artistic education.
Summer is a great time to get kids outside — especially now, when some families don’t feel comfortable taking children to places like trampoline parks or laser tag arenas. Camp Country Day provides safe indoor and outdoor activities that put parents at ease while providing kids a fun-filled time.
“My biggest thing with summer camp is just providing that safe, fun, social interaction,” says Amber Cole, the director of Canton Country Day School’s lower school summer camp.
Rising first through fifth graders can partake in an exciting week of field trips and on-site activities that aim to be both educational and fun.
Cole says that field trips may include activities like mini golf and places like the Farm at Walnut Creek in Sugarcreek and Gorge Metro Park in Cuyahoga Falls. Walnut Creek has a petting zoo where kids can interact with animals such as giraffes and zebras. At Gorge Park, kids can walk through the woods and are free to take their shoes off and wade in the creeks.
Each week on-site at the camp is different, with themes like Harry Potter, Star Wars, science, music, hiking and more. Activities include learning how to play instruments, reading music, collecting bugs and examining them under microscopes, roasting hot dogs for lunch, roasting marshmallows for dessert and much more.
This year, Cole is implementing a new activity — theater. She is brainstorming ideas for opportunities for kids to reenact a Shakespearean play, create costumes, learn lines and practice acting skills.
This wide range of activities helps children be well-rounded, and Cole works to connect with kids of various learning styles, whether they work best in groups or with a partner.
“We try to come up with activities that suit all the needs,” she says. “We try to do as many things hands-on as possible because that hits most kids. For some kids, hands-on is creating a model on the computer rather than creating a 3D model. And we absolutely are all for that.”
Cole aims to facilitate many outdoor activities to give the kids a break from masking and let them enjoy some fresh summer air.
“We have them pack their own lunches. That adds a fun little layer to it,” Cole says. “We take lunch outside, we sit in the grass and we have a little picnic.”
Overall, she wants to create experiences kids will never forget.
“I just want them to have memories that maybe they couldn’t have elsewhere,” Cole says. “I want them to have a blast.”
Camp Country Day runs each week from June 13 to July 22. For more information, contact Amber Cole at 330-453-8279 or visit cantoncountryday.org.
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Our Camps to Consider
General Interest
Akron YMCA
Get out of the house, explore the beauty of the nearby Summit Metro Parks and learn all about the natural world on trips to museums and nature centers with Akron YMCA summer camps from June through August. Options include the overnight Camp Y-Noah, day camps or a special needs Rotary Camp, with choices for kids from preschool age to 16 years old. Campers make new friends during classic activities like rock climbing, arts and crafts and swimming. akronymca.org
Camp Ledgewood
All girls in kindergarten through 11th grade are welcome to enjoy day camp sessions, family camp and more. Some age groups can stay overnight in cabins, platform tents and more during Girl Scout camp in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, with sessions available from June to August. With activities like zip lining, swimming, rope climbing, archery, a discovery kitchen and more, there’s plenty of excitement. gsneo.org
Camp JCC
With weekly themed camps, such as space, Harry Potter, Dinoland and Hawaiian Luau, and traditional camps from June 6 to Aug. 12, Shaw Jewish Community Center of Akron has day camps to cover many interests for first through eighth graders. New for 2021 are camps in partnership with Challenge Island that offer science, tech, engineering, arts and math-based lessons, so campers learn as they create. Kids with disabilities are welcome, and after-camp care is available. shawjcc.org
Educational
Akron ZooCamp
Take a walk on the wild side with ZooCamp. Campers ages 3 to 12 tour the Akron Zoo, meet education animals up close, craft and do other activities in small groups during five-day camps, with sessions available from June to August. akronzoo.org
Lawrence School
Learning doesn’t have to mean boring lectures in dreary classrooms. It can be a fun and all-encompassing experience. Lawrence School offers educational day camps, including Lions Leap camp to improve reading, writing and math skills for rising first through sixth graders June 13 to July 8 at the Broadview Heights campus and Jump Start to build study and tech skills for rising sixth through eighth graders Aug. 1 to 5 at the Sagamore Hills campus. The Lions Leap camp is aimed at students with learning differences and incorporates a holistic and multisensory approach. lawrenceschool.org
Old Trail School
Each day, campers partake in something new, whether it be forts and tunnels or plein air landscape painting. Find morning, afternoon or full-day camps June 6 to Aug. 5 for kids 3 to 14. Fun lessons include music, nature, cooking and STEAM. Lunch, transportation, before-camp care and after-camp care are available at the Bath school. oldtrail.org
Soap Box Derby STEM
Where you’re going, you won’t need engines — gravity’s on your side at the Soap Box Derby camp in Akron. Campers ages 8 to 13 make friends and use STEM principles and teamwork to design, build and race their own wooden car during this day camp June 6 to 10. soapboxderby.org
Spring Garden Waldorf School
The Cyber Civics summer camp might have you picturing a room of children on screens all day — but not at the Waldorf School in Copley. Rising sixth to ninth graders spend most of the day outside, learning critical thinking and digital literacy skills through discussions and workshops at this day camp July 19 to 23. After-camp care is available. sgws.org
Western Reserve Academy
Whether your child is passionate about sports, arts or STEM, Western Reserve Academy has a ton of day or overnight camps for them to choose from. There’s also an adventure day camp that’s more traditional, with a mix of everything. Camps at the Hudson school cater to kids 7 to 13 years old. wra.net
Arts
Magical Theatre Company
All the world’s a stage, so encourage your child to get up there and take a bow! Magical Theatre Company in Barberton offers summer drama day camps in June, July and August, where kids in third to eighth grades can learn lines, rehearse and perform their own show. magicaltheatre.org
The University of Akron, Myers School of Art
With the unique ArtsLift apprenticeship day program, high school students from Akron Public Schools can hone their craft and practice art at a top-of-the-line university. Students create a piece of art in a public space, alongside college students and a professional artist over a few weeks. uakron.edu
Weathervane Playhouse
If your child has a knack for the stage, check out these Akron camps that teach acting, singing, dancing, tech skills and more, with many that end with a show. With multiple sessions from June 6 to Aug. 12, kids ages 5 to 17 can learn all about the principles of performance at day camps. weathervaneplayhouse.com
Sports
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
The friendships forged on the basketball court, soccer field, tennis court or football field last a lifetime. Enjoy these, as well as lacrosse, cheer and football at camps in June, July and August at the Cuyahoga Falls school to stay fit and active this summer while building lasting bonds. cvcaroyals.org
i9 Sports
Take summer fun the whole nine yards with sports day camps in June, July and August for children ages 3 and up. With options of baseball, soccer, cheerleading, lacrosse and multi-sports camps in Copley, Tallmadge, Northfield, Medina, North Canton and more cities, there’s ample opportunity for all kids to enjoy their favorite game this summer. i9sports.com