Camps give children a chance to explore art, science, drama
Drawing, painting, acting, writing and science took center stage recently as school-age children attended one of two day camps held on East Carolina University’s campus.
The 2017 STEAM and Drama summer camps were held July 17-22.
Children in kindergarten through 12th grade got to learn about scientific illustration, Stixsplosions!, pendulum painting, 3-D printing, ceramics, bookmaking, digital photography, nature printing and filmmaking at the Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Art or STEAM camp.
Kindergartners make boxes from a sheet of paper. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)
Emily Benson, an ECU senior majoring in art education from Kinston, was one of the teachers for the STEAM camp.
“I just realized how much fun the kids have with any project,” Benson said. “I realized how much they love learning.”
Director of the STEAM camp Robert Quinn said he was excited about his art education students getting hands-on experience with the younger learners and delivering fun learning experiences.
Noah Blumenstein, a second-grade student at St. Peter’s Catholic School, said his favorite part of the STEAM camp was getting to make a guitar and learning how to etch.
At drama camp, children learned about performance, movement, playwriting, self-expression, self-confidence, group work and celebrating each other’s accomplishments.
Drama Camp instructor Rachel Hutzenbiler works on an improvisation exercise at the Messick Theater Arts Center on Monday, July 17, 2017. (Photo by Rhett Butler)
“We celebrate the imagination through the process of theatre,” said Patch Clark, director of the camp.
Cameron Bowen, a rising eighth-grader at Hope Middle School, said her favorite activity was practicing for the “Final Share,” a play put on by the campers and performed on Saturday morning for parents, family members and the community to show what the campers learned throughout the week.
Morgan Boyce, a rising seventh-grader at Arendell Parrott Academy, said her favorite part of the week was making puppets and learning more about movement.
Greenville native Alex Munn, an ECU junior theatre arts major with a dual concentration in both design and production focusing on properties and youth theatre, has enjoyed his time working with the kids.
Children in a K-2 Drama Camp class participate in a story during camp. (Photo by Rhett Butler)
“To actually work as a teacher was a very eye-opening job,” Munn said.
Munn attended the camp before he enrolled in the School of Theatre and Dance and wanted to be apart of the camp this year to keep the tradition going, he said.
-by Bre Lewis