Parents looking for something for their children to do — whether by introducing a new topic or continuing an already established interest shown by sons and daughters — have a number of options available during summer break. Newtown Continuing Education has again scheduled summer camps with a number of topics available.

This summer will mark the 24th year Continuing Education will be running its SMART (Summer Music and ARTs) summer camp.

The camp again will be at  Head O’Meadow Elementary School and will be open for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.

The SMART camps run through most of July, and are offered in two sessions. Session I runs July 6-17, and Session II runs from July 20-31.

Instructors for the camps are primarily local residents.

Classes range from the basics of knitting to “Constructivism,” in which the students design and create what Continuing Education Director Elissa Gellis describes as “Chihuly-inspired floating sculptures.”

The Constructivism class is just one of many offerings from a list of programs featured during the two weeklong sessions of the SMART camp.

Kids are encouraged to get their hands dirty and work with papier maché, paint, clay, and even glass in the camps, according to Ms Gellis.

“We try to switch out the classes year to year for variety,” said Ms Gellis, “but some kids come back for the same classes over and over, like [Icky Sticky Ooey Gooey Chemistry].”

While the Icky Sticky Ooey Gooey Chemistry may be a perennial favorite, a new Fused Glass class promises to add even more interest in the camps.

The instructor for the Fused Glass class is Newtown artist Kelly Makuch. After going over safety procedures such as goggles, smocks, and proper footwear, the class will take the students through the process of fusing glass. Beginning with a base of glass and building up, students will create animals, insects, robots, and more. All creations will be fired in a kiln by Ms Makuch.

Additional Offerings

Aside from SMART camp, there are several engineering and computer camps also available through Continuing Education for this summer, as well as a weeklong Knit and Chat class.

The three computer camps, each running for a week at Reed Intermediate School, include an Introduction to Computer Programming Using Scratch 2.0, a robotics class, and even a Minecraft class.

“The Minecraft class is hot,” said Ms Gellis.

Minecraft is a “sandbox” computer game where players can build and explore a virtual world of their own construction, according to the class description. In the class, students will hone their digital creativity while learning to collaborate with peers in a shared classroom version of the Minecraft game, according to Ms Gellis.

The engineering camp is another favorite, according to Ms Gellis; Design It, Build It, Launch It is returning for its second year.

“We’re really trying to promote this class,” said Ms Gellis.

According to the class’s description. the projects like hovercrafts, catapults, and rockets are bolstered by safety procedures. The course is available for students in fifth through eighth grade.

Further information about the SMART summer camp sessions and the other Continuing Education offerings are available online at district’s main website, www.newtown.k12.ct.us, by selecting the Summer Camps/Programs option under the Departments menu.