May 31, 2013

Media Advisory -- Summer Camps

Reporters, photographers and news crews in search of interesting summer activity stories need look no further than Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s summer camps.

Continuing Education and Outreach coordinates most of the camps, while the Touch of Nature Environmental Center, Saluki athletics, and other units on campus handle others. 

The 2013 summer camp schedule for June 3-14, along with a brief description of each camp, opportune times to capture stories or footage, and contact information includes:

  • Eco Camp, two sessions of the experiential camp for children in grades 2-7 are set during this period.  Animal Adventures is June 3-7, while Survival 101 is June 10-14.  Both meet from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Touch of Nature Environmental Center, about eight miles south of Carbondale on Giant City Road. The camps give children a heightened ecological awareness of the world around them through fun, educational, hands-on activities.  For more information, call 618/453-1121 or email tonec@siu.edu.
  • Build Your Own Android App Camp, June 5-7, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Applied Sciences and Arts Building.  This summer camp introduces middle school girls to the fun of mobile application development for Android phones.  The curriculum for the camp includes 12 to 15 hours of face-to-face instruction in Android mobile application development using MIT’s App Inventor.  For more information, contact Nancy Martin at 618/453-8838 or by email at nlmartin@siu.edu.
  • Lead SI Institute, June 5-7, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., various locations on campus, primarily at the Student Center.  Lead SI is a youth engagement program to involve participants in peer networking and help them learn leadership and community development skills.  Each year a new class of incoming high school juniors and seniors receive an opportunity to participate as future leaders, enjoying a full curriculum that University professionals developed to enhance the teens’ communication, problem-solving, team-building and decision- making skills.  Participants will also network with leaders from the business, government, education and health care sectors.  For more information, contact Andy Morgan at 618/453-5714 or by email at amorgan@siu.edu.
  • Cooperative Youth Conference, June 6-7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Agriculture Building.  The conference provides participants an exciting yet educational opportunity to learn about cooperatives and the seven cooperative principles through hands-on activities.  During a field trip, students will have a chance to see a local cooperative in action. For additional information, contact Michelle Sullivan at 618/453-3080 or by email at sully@siu.edu.
  • Challenge to Excellence I, June 9-14, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in various locations.  In its 30th year, Challenge to Excellence is one of the most respected and long-standing summer residential programs in the Midwest for academically talented students.  The program’s major goal is to provide students with opportunities to “stretch themselves” in classes that promote higher-level thinking skills and creativity in a variety of academic subjects including math, art, psychology, journalism, biology and more.  Instructors bring many years of experience to the program and counselors are experienced teachers or SIU Carbondale graduate students.  For more information, contact John McIntyre at johnm@siu.edu or by phone at 618/453-4223.
  • Camp Little Giant, the therapeutic recreation camps for children and adults of differing abilities, has two sessions during this time period.  Camp Olympia I is June 9-14, while Camp Olympia II is June 9-21.  Both are for adults 21 and older with high care needs and low mobility/wheelchair needs.  The camps meet at Touch of Nature Environmental Center, about eight miles south of Carbondale and provide participants with a true summer camp experience.  For additional information, contact Vicki Lang at 618/453-1121, ext. 231, or by email at vickl@siu.edu. 
  • Girls in Engineering & Science Day Camp, June 10-13, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Engineering Building.  The camp helps students learn about engineering and science through hands-on experiments, demonstrations, and conversations with College of Engineering and College of Science faculty and students.  The camp engages students' interest in engineering and science and preparing them for future roles in those fields. Sample projects and topics this year include energy, water, climate and design challenges. For more information, contact Lizette Chevalier at 618/453-4321 or by email at cheval@engr.siu.edu.
  • Saluki Baseball Camp, June 10-13, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Abe Martin Field.  The camp helps youths improve their baseball skills as they enjoy the sport.  The focus will be on improving the individual hitting, fielding and pitching skills while also enhancing each participants’ confidence. Many former campers have success at the high school level, and have gone on to play college and professional baseball.  For additional information, contact Saluki baseball coach Ken Henderson at 618/453-3794 or by email at hendu@siu.edu.
  • Beginning LEGO Engineering, June 10-14, 8:30 a.m. to noon, Quigley Hall.  Camp projects include basic LEGO parts and construction, level and catapult, car, pulley, conveyor, gears, gears with belts, simple crane, gears with chains, motorized gears, motorized turn stile, motorized car construction, folding chair, draw bridge, motorized player piano, motorized windshield wipers, helicopter, airplane, motorized car, motorized conveyor belt and a motorized merry-go-round.  There will also be a take-home project, as well as challenged creative time.  For details, contact Jon Davey at 618/453-3734 or by email at davey@siu.edu.
  • Advanced LEGO Engineering, June 10-14, 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Quigley Hall. Campers will create projects including a street cleaner, disk car, hand-held crane, mechanical hammer, disk speedster, balance, balance with dial, windmill, sail car, motorized go-cart, motorized rail, motorized walking stick, motorized dog, motorized crane, weighted crane, motorized dragster, mobile crane, tow truck, helicopter and an airplane.  There will also be a take-home project and challenged creative time.  New projects will explore renewable energy sources; investigate energy supply, transfer, accumulation, conversion and consumption; and use measurements and data analysis to describe and explain outcomes through hands-on activities.  For more information, contact Jon Davey at 618/453-3734 or by email at davey@siu.edu.