Summer fun empowering future leaders

BY ELISE OBERLIESEN RAISED IN THE ROCKIES

Summer camp season is upon us. And that means endless enrichment opportunities for your K-12 student. Whether your child is wired for leadership – or arts, science and sports, choose from many local programs. Want to avoid the dreaded waitlist? Start shopping around now because enrichment camps fi ll up fast. Here’s a few Academic and Leadership Camps we think you will like.

BVSD LIFELONG LEARNING

BVSD Lifelong Learning offers an impressive list of enrichment offerings for students. “We are so excited to have summer camps back,” said Spokesperson Matt Jenkins. “We’ve set it up with over 400 in-person camps and 150 online camps.” Choose from online coding, to ninja camps at a Longmont climbing club, to music, art and horseback riding. Camps run one week with morning and afternoon sessions. Half day camps are available too. Camps are located both at schools and offsite.

CU SCIENCE DISCOVERY

The choice is yours – in person or virtual learning for you student. Students enrolled at CU summer camps learn from CU faculty, instructors or graduate and undergraduate students. These fun and informative camps range from STEM based learning – aerospace, immunology and virology – to backpacking, digital arts and Origami. Check out the camp roster to see which summer camp grabs your student’s imagination. Camp locations range from the CU-Boulder campus, to Anschutz Medical Campus, in Aurora, to Fiske Planetarium and Chautauqua Park.

RENAISSANCE ADVENTURES

In a magical world of dragons and knights, students step back in time and assume new roles that encourage brainstorming, self-empowerment and sportsmanship. Using their imagination, students can learn to wield foam swords in dueling matches – to creative writing exploration. Both online and in-person classes give your student a wide variety of camp experiences. In-person camps take place at local parks to locations like September School, Temple Grandin School and Elk’s Lodge. Visit their calendar online and sign up before camps fi ll up.

ST. VRAIN VALLEY SCHOOLS

SuperSTEM camps will be offered in June and July at St. Vrain Valley Schools, Innovation Center. Open to students ages 9 to 17. “Each innovative and hands-on camp incorporates humancentered design thinking to tackle different topics,” said Patricia Quinones, assistant superintendent of Innovation, with St. Vrain Valley Schools. Let your camper launch their mind into space with “Mission to Mars” where they program a land rover. Or explore the fascinating world of chemistry with “Become a Mad Scientist!” Calling all future pilots. Learn the magic of fl ight simulators in “Pilot Ground.”