Summer Camps Available Throughout Region

BENTONVILLE -- Many summer camps in Northwest Arkansas still have slots open while others have reached their capacities, according to camp organizers.

Amazeum will team with Trike Theatre to host two camps from July 21 to July 25, said Mindy Porter, Amazeum director of education.

The first is a Magic School Bus camp for children who are 4 years old to entering second grade. Participants are introduced to theater fundamentals and the creative process, according to the camp description.

The Science of Acting is the second camp. It is for students entering grades third through eighth. Students will explore the transfer of light and sound, chain reactions and fusing of materials then learn how those concepts relate to theater, according to the camp description.

Registration for those camps can be done through the Trike Theatre website.

Amazeum also will hold two other camps this summer.

Curiosity Camp will be held from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. from July 28 through Aug. 1 for children ages 4 and 5. Participants will need an adult partner with them for the family-style camp, Porter said.

"We will be spending the whole week asking questions, exploring, being curious," she said.

Activities will be science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics based, Porter said.

Amazeum's STEAM Camp will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from Aug. 4 through Aug. 8 for children ages 9 to 11.

Each day will focus on a different element of the STEAM initiative, Porter said. So Monday will focus on science, Tuesday on technology and so forth.

"Since they're older kids, we will be able to dive in a lot deeper," she said.

Registration opened Monday and can be done online at www.amazeum.org/about-the-amazeum/programs/.

Amazeum is scheduled to open in 2015. It will host eight to 10 weeks of summer camps once it's open that will range more in offerings and age groups who can participate, Porter said.

"This is just the beginning," she said.

The Bentonville Parks and Recreation Department added several camps to its summer lineup this year, making its total offering to 16 camps between June and August, according to the registration form.

Additions include Camp Abrakadoodle -- a camp combining art and music -- and four different Lego camps -- Gears and Gadgets, Wacky Wheels, Vehicle Brick Building and Fun-Gineering, according to David Wright, Parks and Recreation director.

The Lego Collision Car Camp is back for its second year.

Several camps are full, and several still have openings, Wright said.

Those with openings include Camp Downtown Bentonville, Mad Science, Abrakadoodle, Mountain Bike, Softball, Tennis, Soccer and the second week of Camp Broadway hosted by Trike Theatre.

This is the third year for the department to offer summer camps, Wright said.

"It has grown to where we are literally doing something every week this summer," he said.

The Rogers Activity Center's Summer Day Camp program started Monday and runs through Aug. 15. The camp is for kids in grades first through seventh. Campers take field trips four days a week, Marleen Heyns with the center said.

The center still has some openings for various grades. For costs and more information, call 631-0336, ext. 438

Fayetteville's Yvonne Richardson Community Center's free, seven-week summer celebration camp will run from June 16 through Aug. 2, said Tenisha Gist, center director.

Participants will take field trips around Northwest Arkansas as well as venture to Branson, Mo. and Tulsa, Okla., this year, Gist said.

"We're really excited to mix it up," she said.

There were also three days of mandatory orientation for parents this year, Gist said.

The camp is for children ages 6 to 12 and has a 50-child capacity. There have been 65 who have registered as of Monday morning, according to Gist. The additional 15 have been placed on a waiting list.

Gist asks that parents who know their child will not be able to attend a day to let her know so children on the wait list can participate.

About 50 percent of those registered are new campers, she said.

Next year's camp registration will begin the first week of May. The Yvonne Richardson Community Center Facebook page has the most updated information, Gist said.

Fayetteville Parks and Recreation is offering eight, one-week long summer camps, according to its website. Each week is themed after an activity.

Camps for tennis, soccer, drama and Camp Wilson are for children ages 5 to 12. Outdoor Adventure Camps are open to children ages 8 to 12, and Outdoor Advance Camp is for youth ages 12 to 15, according to the website.

A Springdale Parks and Youth Center still have room in its day summer camp sessions, said Lindsey Nelson, program coordinator.

The center host six, one-week long sessions. The sessions run from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Participants engage in arts and craft activities and games. There are visits to the aquatic center and fishing opportunities at the pond in Murphy Park, Nelson said.

Registration can be done by calling the youth center at 750-8185.

NW News on 06/10/2014