DUBOIS – For 20 years, children have been having fun learning principles of ecology, engineering, health, aerodynamics, theatrics, chemistry, literature, design and history, all at Penn State DuBois.
The 20th annual Kids in College runs throughout the second half of June at the DuBois campus and at the Community Education Council in St. Marys. This year, more than 350 students, ages 5-17, have signed up to take weeklong or daylong courses.
“We want to give the kids something educational as well as fun to do in the summer,” said Sueann Doran, Kids in College coordinator and a Penn State DuBois staff member. “We don’t want to make them feel like they’re going to school, but we want to give them something extra, like a hobby, to learn about and then build upon.”
Classes vary from year to year according to children’s interests. This year, Doran said, Kids in College offers everything from a natural beauty spa class where students make their own face masks from natural products, to crime scene investigation. Students make their own sculpting dough, make chewing gum and learn the strength of triangles by building structures from tooth picks and gum drops. In the “School of Wizardry,” kids can learn the magic of science, seeing substances morph right before their eyes. Students take notes with quill pens and complete their day with a grand feast.
“The teachers like having this type of outlet aside from their regular curriculum. They like providing some fun ways of learning for the children. For instance, they disguise the math and make it fun to learn,” Doran said.
The forensic science class, along with courses in creative writing, digital photography and painting, are new this year as an extension of Kids in College, called the Art, Science and Technology Institute. Doran said these courses target students in grades seven to 12. In addition to the June classes, Penn State DuBois is offering a video game development class from July 10-14, designed for high school students. For more information, or to register, call Penn State DuBois at 375-4716, or visit http://www.ds.psu.edu/CE/youth online.
Doran said a big part of the continued success of the Kids in College program and its ability to expand, is attributed to the many sponsors of the program. Donations from Wal-Mart, Mike and Dave’s Pizza and personal donations, listed on the Web site noted above, cover the cost of additional supplies, provide special events and make scholarships available to students in lower-income families.