Summer Youth Programs for grades K-12 begin soon at WWU

Western Washington University's Youth Programs is offering a diverse lineup of topics and programs this summer for students of all ages, ranging from geology and astronomy, to dance, music, visual arts and writing.

• College Quest, for grades 10-12, is a program that helps to bridge the gap between high school and college, providing a week-long immersion into campus life and academics. Participants will live in a dorm and complete a one-credit college course taught by Western’s faculty. Students can choose from several course topics, including the new “Dance, Conditioning and Choreography” course, which will provide an intensive, dynamic, non-competitive dance and choreography experience. The College Quest program runs July 10-15.
• Grandparents U is an intergenerational program that provides an opportunity for grandparents and grandchildren, ages 7-14, to spend time together while having fun and learning about a special interest topic. Examples of the topics are “Running Water and Rolling Waves,” which is a geology program that discusses the role of water in the sculpting of the landscape around us; “Telling Our Tale,” which is a theatre arts program that focuses on character, gesture, and non-verbal communication; and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, How I Wonder,” which is an astronomy program where participants will learn about the birth, life, and death of stars and visit Western’s Planetarium. The Grandparents U program takes place July 14-15.
• Odyssey of Science and Arts is for students entering grades 4-9. The program features weekly half-day sessions and focuses on a choice of popular science, art and technology topics, including Creative Design from Digits to Widgets, Chinese Language, Everything Guitar, Earth Science, Eco Explorations, Field Sketching, The Intertidal Zone, Math, The Write Stuff and Trash to Treasure. The sessions are divided by Elementary and Middle School and run June 27-July 1 and July 18-22.
• Western Arts Preparatory Academy is offering several programs this summer. For students in grades K-2 or 3-5 there is a dance program that focuses on learning new movements and improving coordination skills. A theatre program is offered for both elementary students and secondary school students. Secondary-school students have the option to be part of a performance of “The Jungle Book,” and another option is the Suzuki violin program, which is for children ages 4-7. There is also a visual arts program, “Calling All Picassos, Shakespeares and Jane Austens,” where children, grades 3-5, will create their own story and perform it as a puppet show.

For program details and registration information, visit http://www.wwu.edu/youth or e-mail youth@wwu.edu or call (360) 650-3308.