June 03, 2011

Craft Shop offering summer fun for kids

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Children are out of school for the summer and the Craft Shop at Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Student Center is offering all sorts of summer fun for kids. There are three weeks of summer workshops just for youths, along with a variety of other special activities.
Four workshops will take place during the weeks of June 20-24 and July 11-15. Youngsters can enjoy all-day craft shop fun by attending multiple workshops. The schedule includes kids’ drawing and painting 8-10 a.m., woodworking 10 a.m.-noon, art story lunch 12:15-12:45 p.m. and kids’ art summer school 1-4:30 p.m.
The story lunch is for all ages and participants will enjoy a story about art or artists as they dine on a lunch from a Student Center eatery. The cost is $45. Each of the other workshops is open to ages 7-12. The cost for drawing and painting is $45 while the woodworking workshop is $55.
During the art summer school, children will create assorted arts and crafts including sculptures, duct tape crafts, pottery, jewelry, woodworking, printing, and even take a trip to the University Museum. The cost is $90.
During the week of July 18-22, kids’ drawing is the morning session from 10 a.m. to noon for ages 10-14. The cost is $45. Youths ages 12 and older can attend kids’ sewing that week from 1 to 3 p.m. and the cost is $35.
Knitting for kids will be July 6-8 from 10 a.m. to noon each day. Children ages eight and older will knit scarves in this entry-level class. The cost is $35.
Children ages 7-12 can also try their hand at the pottery wheel with sessions set for 1-3 p.m. July 25-29. The cost is $50 for the week or $12 to attend an individual session.
Children and adults of all ages are welcome at Walk-In Family Night set for 5-8:30 p.m. on June 30. You can make wax hands, silver rings, wood sculptures and much more. The costs, starting at $2, vary depending upon the activities you choose. You don’t need to pre-register for this event.
Happy Hour at the Craft Shop is a regular Friday activity from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. beginning June 17 and continuing until July 29. For just a dollar you can purchase a pound of clay to craft with. There’s a nominal charge to get a henna tattoo or create personalized cards, too.
The Craft Shop is also offering a wide assortment of one-day and multi-week workshops for older teens and/or adults including acrylic painting, Google site web page development, beginning photo editing, stained glass, ceramics, Japanese brush painting, woodworking, picture mat cutting, fused glass jewelry, silver and glass jewelry, worm farm creation and glass bead making. Some of these workshops are open to participants as young as 14.
Craft Shop activities, in the shop located on the lower level of the Student Center, are open to the public and the SIUC community. Pre-registration is a requirement for many of the events.
You can find the complete summer 2011 Craft Shop schedule and details about all of the activities online at www.siucstudentcenter.org/craft-shop. Or, call 618/453-3636, email craftshp@siu.edu or visit the shop’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1637196301 for additional information.