Multiple summer camps at Tusculum to provide active and experiential learning opportunities for children of all ages

GREENEVILLETusculum University is hosting multiple summer camps, some of which will be available twice, that will provide children of all ages an opportunity to grow their skills and absorb the collegiate atmosphere.

Theatre Camp at Tusculum will be held in Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Center.

Tool School and Find Your Food, Find Your Fun will be based at the Doak House Museum.

The fun and informative activities start in early June and last until late July on the Greeneville campus. They include learning about life in the early 19th century, exploring food history through the natural environment, further exploring an interest in health professions and discovering the on-stage and behind-the-scenes elements of theater.

“If children want to have a great time and learn a lot in the process, Tusculum University is the place to be this summer,” said Greg Fay, director of continuing education and camps. “We are thrilled to offer children an excellent way to participate in active and experiential learning with our faculty, staff and students. Our beautiful and historic campus will provide an outstanding backdrop for participants as they join us for a bevy of fun activities.”

Here is a rundown of the camps:

  • Tool School, June 6-10 or July 11-15, 9 a.m.-noon at the Doak House Museum, $100 – This camp is geared toward students 10-12 years old. They will play the role of a joiner’s apprentice in the early 1800s as they discover how to work with wood. Campers will learn about and use the tools and techniques needed to build a tool box that they will take home at the end of the camp. The camp is led by Dr. Peter Noll, associate professor of public history and museum studies, and Tusculum students.
  • Find Your Food, Find Your Fun, June 20-24 or July 25-29, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Doak House, $175 – This outdoor camp is designed for children 10-12 years old. Every morning, campers will solve problems that guide them through food history – from hunting and gathering through the first agricultural revolution all the way to the modern diet. The results will be incorporated into the camp lunch. In the afternoon, campers will discover ways in which children have used the natural world to have fun individually and together. Campers should bring their own lunches and be prepared for wading and other water activities based on the camp schedule. Dr. Noll and Tusculum students will also lead this camp.
  • Health Professions Day Camp, July 19, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Meen Center, $30 – This camp is for rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors who are interested in a career in any profession of the health field. This camp will focus specifically on the heart. In addition to classroom sessions about that organ, participants will be able to dissect a sheep’s heart, take someone’s blood pressure and help perform an electrocardiogram. The College of Science, Technology and Mathematics and the College of Nursing are partnering to run this camp.
  • Theatre Camp at Tusculum, July 25-29, 8-11 a.m. for ages 5-8, noon-3 p.m. for ages 9-13 and 3:30-6:30 p.m. for ages 14-18, Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Center, $105 – Participants will learn about all aspects of theater and create their own original play. They will help write it, act in it and build costumes and sets and then demonstrate their talent in free showcase performances by each group that will be held the last night of camp. These performances will be open to the community. Steve and Erin Schultz, who are theater veterans in the region and Tusculum staff members, will lead the camp.

    Health Professions Day Camp will be held at the Meen Center.

“Tusculum University values its connections with the community and is delighted to be able to host students throughout the region on our campus,” said Dr. Tricia Hunsader, Tusculum’s provost and vice president of academic affairs. “We have developed excellent camps with a wide variety of subjects that should capture the interests of all children. We encourage these students to attend so they can build memories that will last a lifetime and help them prepare for the upcoming academic year.”

Further details about the camps and registration are available at https://tusculumuniversitycamps.totalcamps.com/. For more information, please email Fay at gfay@tusculum.edu.