Children’s Museum summer camps continue in July

Imagination Station Summer Camp continues at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge through July, inviting children to experience garden to table fun, create with chocolate and other culinary treats, learn from the artistic masters, fashion designs in clay, and many more adventures.

The summer camps, through July 31, offer activities for children ages 3-5 in preschool classes and for children entering grades 1 through 7. Clay camps with professional clay artist Sherrie Carris will be offered throughout the summer for children ranging in age from 4-13.

The week-long camps are offered Monday through Friday each week. Fees for a single camp are $125 for members and $135 for non-members. For combo camps, morning and afternoon, fees are $210 for members and $220 for non-members. Payment may be made by phone with Visa, MasterCard or Discover, by check, or online through PayPal.

Camps for the week of June 29-July 3 are:

• Splat, ages 3-5, 9 a.m.-noon. Preschoolers will create art with chalk paint, found objects and shaving cream.
• Crazy about Chocolate, rising 1st-3rd grades, 9 a.m.-noon. Whip up chocolate treats, including fondue with fruit and exploding chocolate frogs.  
• Skylanders, rising 1st-3rd grades, 9 a.m.-noon. Campers will defend floating islands from Kaos and work with the Portal Masters to keep peace.
• Mighty Masters,rising 1st-3rd grades, 1-4 p.m. Artists will learn about artists and art forms of the masters and create with paint, collage, sculpture, and more.
• Tinkering with a Mouse Trap, rising 4th -7th grades, 9 a.m.-noon. Campers will create inventions, go on scavenger hunts and relay races
• Chocolate Town, rising 4th –7th grades, 1-4 p.m. Make delicious chocolate pie, brownies, candy, molé, fondue, and cake. Limit 12.
• Art for the Garden, ages 8-12, 9 a.m.-noon. Clay campers will learn basic hand-building skills through slab, pinch, and coil construction.
• Gone Fishin’! Ages 7-12, 1-4 p.m. Clay campers will learn hand-building techniques to create underwater creatures and tiles.

Camps for the week of July 6-10 are:

• Ratatouille Meets Sesame St. on Healthy Ave., ages 3-5, 9 a.m.-noon. Big Bird and Ratatouille emphasize healthy eating, nutrition, and friendships.
• Space Station, rising 1st-3rd grades, 9 a.m.-noon. Campers will build a space station, investigate Mars mud, and more.
• Breakfast & Brunch, rising 1st -3rd grades, 9 a.m.-noon. Young chefs will cook up Eggs Benedict and quiche, home fries, and blend up healthy smoothies.
• Jedi Training, rising 1st-3rd, 1-4 p.m. Molten lava slime and light sabers will entertain young Jedis.
• Cooking Around the World, rising 4th-7th grades, 1-4 p.m.
• Recycled Bookmaking, rising 4th-7th grades, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Artists Bailey Earith, Kat Burns, Sherrie Carris, Bill Capshaw, Geri Forkner, and Nicole Pendleton will help campers create handmade journals, clay pieces, and drawings. Members $250, nonmembers $270 for all day camp. Instructors sponsored by Tennessee Arts Commission.
• Pots for Tots, ages 4-6, 9 a.m.-noon. Note dates: July 8-10. Tots create one of a kind clay pieces and decorate them. Three-day camp fee is $76 for members and $82 for non-members.
• Find Your Center, ages 9-13, 1-4 p.m., July 8-10. Beginners and intermediates learn to  work the wheel and throw a pot. Finish and decorate bowls, mugs, and cups. Limit: 5 campers. Three-day camp fee is $76 for members and $82 for non-members.

Camps for the week of July 13-17 are:

• Giggle Science, ages 3-5, 9 a.m.-noon. Preschoolers explore science through mixing, measuring, and experimenting.
• Around the World, rising 1st-3rd grades, 9 a.m.-noon. Campers will explore different tastes, traditions, and festivals.
• How to Train your Dragon, rising 1st-3rd grades, 1-4 p.m. Campers become Vikings and learn dragon training techniques.
• Food Art, rising 1st-3rd grades, 1-4 p.m. Campers will create and eat pasta art, carve out food-shaped stamps, and stir together some edible play dough.
• All American Culinary, rising 4th-7th grades, 9 a.m.-noon. Limit 12. Campers take a summer vacation each day to explore flavors from favorite foodie regions.
• The Quest, rising 4th – 7th grades, 1-4 p.m. Campers join the Fellowship of the Ring for adventures through Middle Earth.
• The Challenger, rising 5th-9th grades (note special age group), 1-4 p.m.  Campers will explore the frontiers of the brain with the world’s greatest mind game—Bridge!
• Summer Blockbuster, ages 6-12, 9 a.m.-noon. Want 3D versions of your favorite animated characters? Bring pictures and fashion them in clay.

 Camps for the week of July 20-24 are:

• School of Medicine, ages 3-5, 9 a.m.-noon. Join Dottie Doc McStuffins to make your stuffed clients feel better and stay healthy.
• Kids in Action! The Great Green Adventure, rising 3rd-4th grades (note special age group), 9 a.m.-noon. Campers will plant vegetables in an outdoor garden, and prepare nutritious snacks to fuel your engine.
• Project Catwalk, rising 1st-3rd grades, 1-4 p.m. Young designers will revamp jeans, spray paint a white T-shirt, cut out and decorate a vest, and design an outfit.
• Batter Up! Rising 4th -7th, grades, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Bakers will discover the fun of baking and decorating cakes, cupcakes, brownies, sandwiches, and pizza. All day camp is $250 for members and $270 for non-members. Limit 12.
• Expressions, rising 4th-7th, 9 a.m.-noon. Young artists engage in art in a new way each day.
• Painting and Photography, rising 4th-7th, 1-4 p.m. Learn the basics of photography, as well as painting.
• Selfies, ages 9-13, 9 a.m.- noon. Clay artists will explore making faces in clay as they create expressive face mugs, build a mask, decorate an animated tile, and more.
• Decorate with Clay, ages 8-12, 1-4 p.m. Campers will hand-build a wall hanging and wind chime, decorate a personalized tile, construct a sculpture, and more.

Camps for the week of July 27-31 are:

• T-Rex, ages 3-5, 9 a.m.-noon. Preschoolers will learn about the newest discovered dinosaurs, dig for bones, make dino-prints, and hunt for the lost dinosaur egg.
• Aloha, rising 1st -3rd grades, 9 a.m.-noon. Campers explore the culture as they cook Hawaiian dishes, fashion a lei, create shell art, and learn to hula.
• End of Summer Bash, rising 1st -3rd grades, 1-4 p.m. Campers play water balloon piñata and tape ball, construct marshmallow poppers, and create an obstacle course.  Astronomy Aliens, rising 4th-7th, 9 a.m.-noon. Campers discover why stars have color, mix up galaxy slime, and design a shuttle craft with marshmallows.
• Wild ‘n’ Crazy Kids, rising 4th-7th, 1-4 p.m. Kids use speed, agility and ingenuity to solve challenges in minute-to-win-it games, obstacle courses, a shaving-cream-pie battle, and more.
• Claymania, ages 7-9, 9 a.m.-noon. Dig up clay, then sift and process it and create functional pieces: pot, vase, cup, and bowl, or let your imagination run wild.

The camps are funded under an agreement with the State of Tennessee and the Tennessee Arts Commission. For more information, see the website at www.childrensmuseumofoakridge.org, or call the museum at (865) 482-1074.