Chattanooga State Community College this summer will once again offer musical theatre and robotics day camps for young learners.
Provided by the college’s Economic & Workforce Development Division, the summer camps are designed to inspire kids and teenagers to explore new interests and develop new skills during the summer break.
Robotics courses are open to children ages 8 to 13 and are offered intermittently from June 3 to Aug. 2 at both the main ChattState campus and Kimball campus. Musical theatre camp is open to rising sixth graders to students who recently graduated from high school and are offered from July 22 to July 26 on the college’s main campus.
Parents can register their children or summer camps on the ChattState website. Seats are limited, so early signups are encouraged.
This summer, ChattState is offering “Building Bots for Battle” and “Building Robopetz” camps in conjunction with RoboThink, an organization dedicated to teaching children about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
“We have a very low student-teacher ratio because every child needs a little bit of help,” said Lisa Hayes, owner and director of RoboThink for Middle Tennessee and Chattanooga. “I want them to think, 'Robotics Camp was a lot of fun. I feel confident with STEM.’”
Camp attendees will learn to work with gears, motors, axles, and other proprietary RoboThink hardware. No experience is necessary.
This summer, musical theatre performer and ChattState drama professor Dr. Jennifer Arbogast Wilson and other instructors will guide students through a junior production of “Godspell,” a Tony-award-winning musical by Stephen Schwartz.
Arbogast Wilson said two concurrent camps will be offered for middle and high school students, but they will ultimately come together at the end of the week to perform the musical, allowing instructors to tailor musical theatre education based on age and skill level.
Throughout the week, students in the camp will learn music, choreography, acting, and audition skills. Meanwhile, a technical theatre camp will teach students about set design, lighting, and more. Theatre tech camp attendees will help design set pieces for “Godspell.”
“There’s a greater purpose behind this camp: building life skills, building a connection to other students, building empathy,” Arbogast Wilson said “It teaches you things like confidence.”
Camp attendees will perform “Godspell” on Friday, July 26, at 4 p.m. in the ChattState Humanities Auditorium. The performance is free and open to the public.
Musical Theatre camp is open to students from sixth grade to recent high school graduates. Rising sixth- through eighth-grade students will be taught by Amanda Medlin, while high school students will be taught by Jennifer Arbogast Wilson. The technical theatre camp will be team-taught by Sarah Miecielica, Brenda Schwab, and Justin Walker.