Over 50 camps offered this summer at WMU for youth

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Registration is underway for Western Michigan University camps for young people this summer. 

The following is a partial list of camp offerings, listed by date and camp topic. A listing of all camps, with new listings added as information becomes available, can be found at wmich.edu/admissions/camps. 

Some scholarships are available. Check with specific camps for more information.

WMU summer camps

Bronco athletics sports camps

Various dates throughout June, July and August— for high-school-age and younger students interested in a variety of sports. Find more information at http://bit.ly/1HuQJ7I.

Academically Talented Youth Program summer programs

Various dates in June and July—for students entering grades six through nine. Sessions are held at the Lee Honors College unless otherwise noted. Topics include:

• Chinese language for beginners, for students in grades 5 to 8, June 20-24, 9 a.m. to noon.
• KLOrk Laptop Orchestra, June 20-24, 1 to 4 p.m.
• Japanese language and culture, June 27-July 1, 9 a.m. to noon.
• Graphic novels, June 27-July 1, 1 to 4 p.m.
• Math problems and competitions, July 11-15, 9 a.m. to noon.
• Science fiction writing, July 11-15, 1 to 4 p.m.
• Chess, July 18-22, 9 a.m. to noon.
• Web design, July 18-22, 1 to 4 p.m.
• Summer ecology, July 25-29, 9 a.m. to noon.
• Digital storytelling, July 25-29, 1 to 4 p.m.

An additional class for high school seniors, Writing the College Admissions Essay, will be offered June 20-24 and June 27-July 1, 9 a.m. to noon. Fees: $135 per camp. Registration deadline is Friday, June 3. Late registrants will be taken with a $10 fee if space is available. Contact: (269) 387-3553 or @email. Find more information at wmich.edu/atyp.

Tenth annual Keith Hall Summer Drum Intensive

June 13-18 beginner/intermediate and June 20-25 advanced—various ages and levels, Dalton Center. Final concerts are Friday and Saturday at the Union Cabaret and Grille in downtown Kalamazoo. Tuition and meals: $599 before March 15, $650 after March 15. Residence hall housing: $160 double occupancy, $205 single occupancy. A $100 non-refundable deposit secures a spot with balance due Thursday, April 30. Contact: (201) 406-5059 or @email. Find more information at keithhallmusic.com/education/khsdi. 

Advanced Chinese Language

June 13 -17, June 20-24, July 11 -15, July 18-22, Aug. 8-12 and Aug. 15 -19—ages 8 to 16, six weekly sessions, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday in Sangren Hall. Sponsored by the Confucius Institute, basic Chinese language skill is required. Enrollment is available for individual sessions or the entire summer. Topics include Chinese language and culture activities such as paper cutting, calligraphy, painting and Chinese yo-yo and traditional Chinese games and movies. Fee: $100 for one session and save with multiple sessions. Contact: (269) 387-3951 or @email. Find more information at http://www.wmuconfucius.org/sc. 

Campus Kids

June 13 through Sept. 2—for school-aged children who have completed kindergarten to age 13, 12 themed weeks, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, Children's Place Learning Center. Enrollment is available for individual weeks or the entire summer. Fees: $45 registration and $202.50 per child per week. Contact: (269) 387-2277. Find more information at wmich.edu/childcare/campuskids.html. 

MI GEAR UP College Tour

June 19-25—rising 12th-grade students in Michigan’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs—MI GEAR UP—within the qualifying schools of Benton Harbor, Eau Claire, Fennville, Hartford and Kalamazoo Central High Schools, will participate in a 2016 summer college tour. Michigan's GEAR UP students who submit an application and are selected will have the opportunity to tour the Midwest and southern regions of the United States and visit some of the best colleges and universities in the country, including historically black colleges and universities. This six-day tour will include a first-hand look of college campuses and the college experience, admissions presentations, and financial information. Summer college tour stops will include cultural enrichment and educational centers such as museums, the theatre and historical sites. Fee: free, but students must qualify to participate. Application deadline: Friday, May 6. Contact: Tania Echavarria, (269) 387-3339 or @email. Find more information at wmich.edu/gearup/summer-programs.

Third Coast Writing Project Camp for Young Writers

June 20-July 1—for ages 8 to 14, 9 a.m. to noon, Sangren Hall. Two themed writing camp experiences for academically advanced students: "Diary of a Poetic Kid: 'Ode' School" for ages 8 to 10 and "Spinning Shakespearean Sonnets" for ages 11 to 14. Applications are due by Friday, June 3. Tuition: $150 and includes computer fees, T-shirt and writing supplies. Contact: (269) 387-2572. Find more information at wmich.edu/english.

Youth Tennis Camp

June 20 through Sept. 1—2001 S. 11th St., Kalamazoo. Tennis professionals will provide a daily tennis lesson followed by a game. Age appropriate games include Wiffle ball, pickle ball dodgeball, obstacle courses, tag and more. Participants bring tennis shoes, tennis racket or one can be provided, and healthy snacks. Fee: $128. Register and find more information at westhillsathletic.com or (269) 387-0410. Contact: @email.

Aviation Summer Camp

June 26-July 1, July 10-15 and July 17-22—held in conjunction with the Air Zoo for high school students ages 13 to 18 who are generally interested in aviation. Students stay in residence halls on the WMU campus. Fee: to be announced. Contact: (269) 964-7846 or @email. Find more information at http://hubspot.aviation.wmich.edu/aviationsummercamp.

TRiO Upward Bound Program

June 27-Aug. 11—conducts a year-round program that includes a six-week non-residential summer academic program on the campus of WMU, for low-income high school students from Kalamazoo Public Schools designed to increase the post-secondary participation rate. The academically focused camp emphasizes preparation in mathematics, science, English, foreign language, social studies and career exploration. At the end of the summer, students can take part in an end-of-the-year trip, in which they visit colleges, explore American cites and have other experiences. Interested students must submit an application and meet all eligibility requirements. Fee: free. Contact: (269) 387-2875. Find more information at wmich.edu/upwardbound.

Beyond the Lemonade Stand: An Entrepreneurship Experience

June 28 and 30—for students entering grades 10 through 12 who have started a business or thought of starting a business. Participants learn about developing the mindset of an entrepreneur and walk away with tools to help launch their business ideas. Includes brainstorming sessions, learning about key entrepreneurial principles from WMU business faculty, talking with WMU student entrepreneurs, meeting local entrepreneurs, and preparing materials and plans for business ideas. Held at Starting Gate, 508 E. Butler Court, Kalamazoo. Cost: $25 includes T-shirt, snacks and lunch both days. Only 25 spots available. Register by Tuesday, June 14 at wmich.edu/startinggate/camps. Find more information by calling (269) 387-5860.

SEMINAR

July 10-23—high school summer music camp offered to students in grades nine through 12, including 2016 graduates, in seven areas of study: brass, woodwind, percussion, string, vocal/choral, piano and composition. Application deadline is Tuesday, March 1. Held in residence hall facilities. Tuition: $1,385 on-campus residents, $1,185 off-campus residents. Competitive scholarships are available. Contact: (269) 387-4681 or @email. Find more information at wmich.edu/music-camp/indes.html. 

McGinnis Reading Center and Clinic

July 11-22—weekly summer reading camps for students entering kindergarten through third grade, Monday through Friday, 4511 Sangren Hall. Teachers will provide literary instruction and engagement for different concepts and strategies covered each week. Aug. 1-12—weekly summer camps for students whose native language is not English. This English as a Second Language experience is for K-3 Aug. 1-5, and grades 4-8 Aug. 8-12. Fee: $50 per week for half-day sessions, 9 a.m. to noon. All classes also include a one-time $25 registration fee. Space is limited. Contact: Rosario Hughey at (269) 387-3534 or @email or Deanna Roland at (269) 387-1721 or @email. Register at wmich.edu/readingcenter between April 11 and June 1. All deposits are due within a week of registering to reserve a space.

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Summer Camp

July 15-22, July 25-30 and Aug. 1-5—provides sessions from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Lifelong Learners, July 15-22; teachers and students age 16 and older, July 25-30; and students grades six through nine, Aug. 1-5. Participants work alongside WMU faculty, staff and students to investigate the archaeology of historic Fort St. Joseph in Niles and its role in the Great Lakes fur trade. Activities include classroom presentations, discussions, field excavation, record keeping, lab work and analysis. Applications are available Friday, April 1, at nileshistorycenter.org wmich.edu/fortstjoseph until all camps are filled. Fee: $150. Contact: Christina Arseneau at @email or Timothy Bober at (616) 581-6729. Find more information at wmich.edu/fortstjoseph.

Advanced Aviation Summer Camp

July 17-22—held in conjunction with the Air Zoo for students ages 13 to 18 who want a more in-depth aviation experience. Students stay in residence halls at WMU. Fee: to be announced. Contact: (269) 964-7846 or @email. Find more information at aviation.wmich.edu/aviation.

Hacking 101

July 18-22—for students entering grades 9 to 12, 1 to 4:30 p.m. in Floyd Hall, Room C-208, in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences on WMU’s Parkview Campus. One-week camp will introduce students to fundamental topics of cybersecurity including hands-on lab exercises. Sponsored by the Department of Computer Science, the camp will introduce young students to the topic of cybersecurity and the use of ethical hacking to identify security vulnerabilities. Fee: $75. Registration payment due by Thursday, June 23, and should be mailed to: Sheryl Todd, Department of Computer Science, Western Michigan University, 4601 Campus Drive, Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5466. Find more information at https://hacking101.cs.wmich.edu/registration.

Dollars and Sense: A Finance Camp for High School Students

July 18-22—for high school students who want to learn more about finance including how stock markets work, how to pick and trade stocks, types of investments, how the economy works and saving. Camp runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily except Wednesday from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. when students travel to Chicago to visit stock exchanges and meet with finance professionals. They will learn about more than 10 finance topics, and classes are discussion-based and include two real-world projects. Classes are in WMU’s Greenleaf Trust Trading Room, Haworth College of Business, and taught by Dr. Jim DeMello. Fee: $100. Sponsored by Sanford Advisory Services, it is offered at less than one-fifth of the actual cost. Contact: Jeannine Shafer at @email or (269) 387-5726. Find more information at wmich.edu/financecamp.

Broadway Breakthrough

Aug. 1-6—for incoming high school freshmen to incoming juniors in college who have a strong interest in musical theatre, dance, voice, acting and film. Camp runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday with a final performance and film festival from 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The one-week intensive will provide training from film, television and Broadway celebrities, as well as high-level casting directors, talent agents, musical directors and choreographers, and WMU faculty. Students are placed in groups of 25 maximum based on their current school grade. All students will receive exclusive pre-college video recorded auditions and professional feedback from Jay Berkow, WMU's director of music theatre performance, along with a professional talent agent and casting director. Held at WMU’s Gilmore Theatre Complex. Fee: $625. Find more information at broadwaybreakthru.com/store/western-michigan-university-pre-college-summer-intensive.

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