Still Time To Enroll In University Of Hartford Day Camp

Press release from the University of Hartford:

June 21, 2022

For many campers, it may sound too good to be true: a summer day camp where they get to decide what hobbies to learn, sports to play, or activities to join.

But that’s the goal of The Summer Place, a camp run by the University of Hartford and held in partnership with the neighboring Watkinson School on both campuses. This year, the program is celebrating its 40th summer and currently accepting new campers from kindergarten through high school.

“Whether a camper has a passion for flying drones, outdoor cooking, or archery, chances are we have a class for it,” says Summer Place Recreation Director Anthony Weber. “In addition to offering courses and sports, Summer Place also strives to form lifelong relationships between all campers and the staff.”

In fact, Weber adds, many teens and adults who currently work at The Summer Place began as campers, highlighting the legacy of camaraderie and esprit de corps fostered at this unique summer day camp.

Between 250 and 300 campers attend each of the three two-week sessions, between June 27 and August 5. In addition to the positive and encouraging atmosphere, what truly engages most youngsters are 70 specialized courses and 20 separate sports, wellness, and exercise activities led by certified teachers or creative professionals.

Courses and workshops include woodworking, STEM activities, theater, culinary arts, wilderness and nature observations, Red Cross swim instruction, and dozens of others. Activities requiring indoor instruction are held in campus classrooms, art and television studios, computer labs, theaters, gyms, and other special-interest UHart and Watkinson facilities.

Among the group divisions are the regular Summer Place camp for children entering grades one through nine; Kinderplace and Li’l Place, both of which emphasize developmental learning experiences for children entering preschool and kindergarten; and Summer Place Leaders in Training, or SPLIT, which helps prepare 10th- through 12th-graders to become tomorrow’s Summer Place counselors.

There is a health-care team available with an on-site nurse and on-call physician. Free transportation is available from several convenient stops throughout Greater Hartford.

Josh Chlebowski, a course leader who rose through the ranks, teaches propulsion and water rocketry. “We are all willing to do whatever we can to ensure that our campers have a memorable experience,” says Chlebowski. “It’s a positive space for growth, learning, and most of all, fun.”

For more information or to enroll a child for this summer’s camp, visit hartford.edu/summerplace or call 860.768.4432.

This press release was produced by the University of Hartford. The views expressed here are the author's own.