Montgomery County Community College: Summer Camp Fun Heats Up At Montgomery County Community College

Press release from the Montgomery County Community College:

Eric Devlin

June 1, 2021

The temperature outside is rising, meaning fun times are about to heat up at Montgomery
County Community College this summer.

The College will host a series of summer camps for children in the community. From
racing around the globe to discovering all the artistic beauty it has to offer, to
exploring the galaxy or the wonders of the Schuylkill River, there will be plenty
for campers to do this year.

At “The Amazing Arts Race,” campers will travel the world to complete challenges in
visual, performing and media arts before moving on to the next destination.

Based on the hit CBS reality game show, The Amazing Arts Race summer camp is a cross-cultural arts-based curriculum that explores various global
cultures to experience visual arts, dance, theater and other traditions, while building
teamwork with group challenges and physical activities. This is a two-week summer
camp for children ages 7-10 co-organized with Girls First afterschool program of Norristown.

Campers will work individually and collaboratively on short- and long-term art projects
and a dance performance, which will culminate in an exhibit and presentation on the
last day of camp. This year’s socially distanced camp will be spread out in the Fine
Arts Center and take advantage more of natural surroundings, and the art activities
will be based around murals of the world.

“The theme of this year’s camp is ‘Murals around the World’,” said Galleries Director
Patrick Rodgers. “That will enable us to work on something really big together and
keep socially distanced, while collaborating on art activities.”

“There’s something neat for our program when we come to the College and we get to
combine the girls in the program with other members of the community,” said Amy Grebe,
Director of Education at Girls First. “Students from different schools, backgrounds,
life experiences work as a team. Unique social and interpersonal learning happens
in situations like that.”

The campers’ finished mural will be put on display on Saturday, July 17, inside the
lobby of the Minerva D. Braemer Medical Arts Building of Einstein Hospital in East
Norriton, part of a collaboration with the Greater Norristown Art League.

Michael Lengel, Academic Program Manager, ACLAMO Family Centers, which sends its own
campers to the programs MCCC hosts during the summer, said the partnership between
the two organizations is a win-win, particularly following the pandemic. It gives
students opportunities to work and learn from children their own age in ways hard
to replicate over a computer screen.

“We’re very grateful for the partnership we’ve had with MCCC,” he said. “We’re grateful
for the work Patrick and team do and everyone who has been with us in this journey.
We appreciate their patience as we journey on together to do what’s best for our students.”

The Amazing Arts Race runs July 12-23 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts
Center at Blue Bell Campus.

The summer fun continues when campers blast off into the cosmos as Janet’s Planet
Astronaut Academy Science Camp returns. Enjoy interactive, hands-on activities at Janet’s astronaut academy featuring
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) Space and Earth Science curriculum.

Launch a lifelong love of all things space and science with in-person Janet's Planet
Astronaut Academy, a camp that creates out-of-this-world engagement with Janet and
her team of educators and experts. Each day brings a new mission and new expert guests
from the scientific community. Astronaut challenges, science experiments, and hands-on
experiences will boost student confidence in their STEAM abilities.

When it comes to in-person summer camps, Brent Woods, Senior Director of Cultural
Affairs, said they serve a crucial component for children’s summer learning, and following
the pandemic, they will help children begin to feel a sense of normalcy has returned.

“It’s critical. Kids need it,” said Woods. “There’s a very important social component
in the summer. Kids need to be connected to each other, while having fun learning.
We can assist schools with some of the learning they may have missed during the year.”

Janet’s Planet STEAM Astronaut Academy Science Camp runs July 19-23 (Pottstown Campus)
and July 26-30 (Blue Bell Campus) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for children ages 7 to 14
(or grades 2-8). For more information, please contact Iain Campbell at icampbell@mc3.edu.

Finally, at Pottstown campus, the H2YO! Camp returns. Each day of camp offers hands-on experiences designed to help students
learn about the Schuylkill River Watershed and how different factors affect the health
of the watershed. At the end of the week, middle-school–age students will participate
in a hands-on demonstration to expand their knowledge of the watershed and surrounding
area.

Campers will enjoy a variety of activities, including kayaking, creek snorkeling,
hiking, water testing and reading lab results.

“This camp started from a generous gift from Carl and Sylvia Landis, who wanted to
provide an opportunity for middle school-aged girls to explore water conservation
in the watershed in the Pottstown area,” said Jared Brown, Assistant Dean of Academic
Affairs at Pottstown Campus. “With that in mind, the College has been working with
our outside community relation partners -- Green Valleys Watershed Association and
the Schuylkill River Greenways -- to focus on water- conservation education in the
area.”

The camp runs July 12-16 (girls-only) and July 19-23 (co-ed) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information about H2YO! email h2yo@mc3.edu.

For a full listing of all of the camps MCCC offers and registration information, visit
the Summer Camps landing page.

This press release was produced by the Montgomery County Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.