Arts Smarts Camp Returning to Ware Center in June

The weeks of June 15-19 and June 22-26 will welcome the return of Millersville University's Arts Smarts Camps at the Ware Center in Downtown Lancaster. The Ware Center is located at 42 N. Prince Street, Lancaster. "The response to this new program was overwhelming positive last summer," notes Barry Kornhauser, Millersville University Assistant Director of Campus & Community Engagement. He continues, "112 of the participating families responded to surveys conducted by the University Social Work Department to assess the impact of the camps and, to quote the report, 'the camps were an unequivocal success.' So we're very pleased to offer these popular programs again this June, and excited to introduce two new initiatives."

This summer, the Arts Smarts Camps offer multi-disciplinary arts camps for both preschool-aged children and middle school-age students and will be co-taught by a Millersville University Art & Design faculty member, Dr. Leslie Gates, and an art-education student. These new programs will be joining the already popular camps in Music, Theater, and Visual Arts for children entering grades K-5 that were fully enrolled last summer. Also new this year, four separate Theater camps will be taught by adjunct Millersville faculty member, professional theater artist Marion Woods Sullivan. "Our teaching artist staff is second to none," says Kornhauser. "They are not only extraordinary artists themselves, but well-trained and experienced teachers of their particular art forms, all deeply committed to creating the highest quality arts programming for children and youth." As one mother from last summer put it "This highly organized, enriching camp gave my daughter a safe, fun environment to learn in grow through. Her excitement was intoxicating and she wished the class would last all summer long. Friends were made, fun was had and confidence was built."

These week-long, age-appropriate camps are designed to encourage artistic expression and appreciation, foster knowledge and skills, and inspire the imagination through an active hands-on exploration of the artistic process. Each individual camp is a three-hour daily experience for a week. Campers can enroll in both morning and afternoon camps in either the same art form or in various art forms. At the end of each week, camps conclude with a performance or exhibition for parents/caregivers to enjoy their children's artistic creations.

Music camp participants will engage in creative expression, honing vocal, kinesthetic, and instrumental skills. These camps are designed to nurture natural curiosity, increase a love of music, and expand artistic horizons through age-appropriate songs, movement and music activities, and the exploration of voice and instrument. One parent wrote that her son "has been singing the songs he learned and shares them with family, friends, and perfect strangers! The teachers were all wonderful - patient and kind - and it give me hope that the future of arts education in in their capable hands."

The Theater camps emphasize voice, body, the imagination, concentration and collaborative skills. Theater games and story building techniques will be used to examine such dramatic elements as character, theme, and dialogue, as well as elements of production. "At the end of the week," a mother wrote last summer, "my son was begging to continue with your camp and adamantly told us that he wants to take more drama lessons. This surprised his parents because even though we have tried mightily to give him well rounded experiences, he typically prefers more physical (I might even say violent) activities. Whatever our camp and instructors did, they lit the arts spark for him."

In Visual Arts camps, participants will enjoy a mix of mediums and methods as they actively explore two- and three-dimensional art forms that mix fun and learning. Creativity and self-expression are cultivated and the proper use and care of materials is taught. "This truly enriched my son's knowledge of different artists and their work," noted a mother, "After two weeks he has thrived and enjoys painting and drawing his own art pieces. I am sure this will enrich his life. He loved his teachers and his new friends from the camps. He enjoyed every single minute of being at Arts Smarts Camps."

In the new multi-disciplinary arts camps for the very young (ages 4-5) and the young adults (grades 6-8), interesting objects will serve as creative catalysts for art making. For the littlest learners, possibilities in visual media, theater, song, and dance will be discovered. Middle school participants will be provided with the opportunity to explore their relationships to one another and to the world around them and to consider how one idea can be explored in multiple arts forms.

Each half-day week-long camp is $100. Scholarships are available to families who indicate financial need. For more information on these scholarships, please contact Barry Kornhauser at Barry.Kornhauser@Millersville.edu. There is supervised drop-off and pick-up at the front of the Ware Center every day. Morning camps run from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. and afternoon camps 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. For those campers spending a full day, a supervised lunch period takes place between the morning and afternoon camp sessions. For more information or to register a child, please visit http://www.artsmu.com/arts-smarts-camp.