Whether it's playing miniature golf, roller skating, visiting a local museum or creating a special art project, local organizations have plenty of activities planned to keep children busy during summer camps.
The Marietta Family YMCA, The Betsey Mills Club and the Ely Chapman Education Foundation are among the organizations that will hold camps this summer.
Although the end of the school year is still more than a month away and the official start of summer doesn't come until June 20, registration is already underway for most camps.
The Marietta Family YMCA will hold Camp W.I.L.D. (wellness, imagination, learning, determination) for children in kindergarten through eighth grade and it will hold Camp Caterpillar for children ages 4 and 5. Both camps are being held June 4 through Aug. 10.
"They both ran very well last year and we're looking forward to making them better this summer," said Suzy Zumwalde, director of the Marietta Family YMCA.
There will be different themes for each day of each camp and campers will do activities related to the themes. During Camp W.I.L.D.'s "Great Outdoors" week, for example, campers will take a trip to North Bend State Park.
Fact Box
What's ahead
Some local options for summer camps/activities
Sensational Summer Camp; Ely Chapman Education Foundation Center, 403 Scammel St., Marietta; 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, June 4-Aug. 10, with an optional week Aug. 13-17; ages six (or completed kindergarten) to 14; $89 weekly tuition with sibling and advance cash payment discounts available; $20 registration fee per camper. Call 376-9533 to register.
Betsey Mills Club Summer Camp; Betsey Mills Club, 300 Fourth St., Marietta; 7:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 4-Aug. 24; ages five to 12 (must have completed kindergarten); $85 weekly member rate, $95 weekly non-member rate; $20 daily member rate, $24 daily non-member rate; $40 registration fee.
Betsey Mills Club Magical Make-Believe Mini-Camps; Betsey Mills Club; 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 4-8, June 25-29, July 9-13, July 23-27, Aug. 6-10 and Aug 20-24; ages 3 to 5; $45 weekly for members; $50 weekly for non-members. Call 373-4981 to register.
Summer History Camp; The Castle, 418 Fourth St., Marietta; 9 a. m. to 3 p.m., July 9-13; ages 8 to 12; $35 per child, per day or $150 for the week. Call 373-4180 to register.
Summer Art Camp; Riverside Artists Gallery, 219 A Second St., Marietta; July 16-20; ages 7 to 10 participate from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. for $70; ages 11 and older participate from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. for $85. Call 376-0797 to register.
Camp Caterpillar; Marietta Family YMCA, 300 Seventh St., Marietta; 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. or 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., June 4-Aug. 10; children ages 4 and 5; call 373-2250 for rates.
Camp W.I.L.D.; organized by Marietta Family YMCA and held at Marietta Middle School, 242 Seventh St., Marietta; 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., June 4-Aug. 10; children in kindergarten through eighth grades; call 373-2250 for rates.
Dates for the City of Marietta's free Summer Swim & Play program have not yet been established. It is for children ages 5 to 13. Call 373-1616 for details
As they did last year, Zumwalde said Camp W.I.L.D. campers will once again team up with campers from the Ely Chapman Education Foundation's Sensational Summer Camp for Olympics-themed activities at Don Drumm Stadium.
"It was very, very well received by the kids and the staff," she said. "I think the counselors had just as much fun as the kids."
The Ely Chapman Education Foundation's Sensational Summer Camp will be held from June 4 to Aug. 10, according to Bill Kelsey, an office manager with the foundation.
For the first time, he said, parents will also have an option of enrolling their children in the camp from Aug. 13 to 17 through daily registration.
"It's to have something to offer to parents that last week before school starts," Kelsey said.
The camp is open to children ages 6 (or those who have completed kindergarten) to 15. It will run from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Themes for each week include "Wild West," "Happy 225th Birthday Marietta" and "Art-Rageous," with activities planned related to those themes.
Children who participate in the Betsey Mills Club Summer Camp will get to ride on the Valley Gem, climb on the rock wall at Marietta College and do other fun activities.
"We go do a weekly field trip Thursday mornings," said Kathy Bartlett, director of Betsey's Learning Tree. "Also they go to Washington School every Tuesday morning and use their playground for play and on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning they do various art, music, science and gym activities."
While that camp is open to children ages 5 to 12, the club is also holding Magical Make-Believe Mini-Camps for those ages 3 to 5.
"We have two a month," Bartlett said of the mini-camps. "It's Monday through Friday and parents can choose from a morning session or afternoon session. Morning is 9:30 to 11:30 and afternoon is 1 to 3."
The Riverside Artists Gallery and The Castle, both in Marietta, are among the other places where kids can participate in camps.
A Summer Art Camp will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. for children ages 7 to 10 and from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. for children ages 11 and up from July 16 through July 20 at the Riverside Artists Gallery on Second Street.
"They do a different project every day so they'll have something to take home," said Shelly Schumaker, an artist at the gallery. "We try to promote the younger artists and we try to get them interested in the arts at an early age."
The folks at The Castle on Fourth Street want to get children interested in history during a History Camp to be held from July 9 through July 13.
"We have an archaeological dig planned at The Castle and they go on some field trips," said Leah Magyary, media and collections coordinator for The Castle.
There will be field trips to the Campus Martius Museum, Mound Cemetery and other sites.
