Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Jim Moldenhauer / Daily Vidette Senior Staff

Extended University is currently distributing the Camp Central and Youth Guide brochures free of charge at various locations across campus and around the surrounding community.

The Camp Central publication describes the opportunities that preschool through high school students have to participate in a variety of cultural, educational, athletic and recreational activities, most of which are held on campus according to Debra Wylie, program coordinator of Extended University.

"This is the kind of guide parents can have in their hands," Wylie said, "We would like to have the young members of the community come and explore the campus."

The brochures, which are in their seventh year of publication, serve as a one-stop resource to provide information about the university's plethora of upcoming summer camp and youth programs.

Popular activities include the Gamma Phi Circus Skills Camp, the Summer Speech Institute and the Music for All (Bands of America) Summer Band Symposium, according to Becky Lee, director of Conferencing Services at ISU.

"Bands of America would be one of the largest camps," Lee said, "It's a really good recruitment tool for the School of Music."

This summer will mark the 16th year that Bands of America has hosted their annual weeklong camp on campus.

BOA, which has merged with the company Music for All, attracts over 2,000 high school band students from across the country.

"They [BOA] bring in some big name concerts so it's a good thing for the community," Lee said when referring to the Drum Core shows played at Hancock Stadium.

The Youth Guide on the other hand provides information on the programs and services available for youth on campus through the year,

"We have a huge variety of outreach programs [that] educators can utilize…especially for presentations for their classes," Wylie said when referring to the school presentations provided by the University Planetarium.

The publications include various camps available for both younger children as well as college students.

"Various camps have different faculties and staff and it's very individualized…they develop what they need to run their camps," Wylie said, "They are all contributors to the camps and we want to help shine a light on that to say 'come to ISU and have some fun and learn something.'"

Other events highlighted in the brochures include the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Concerts on the Quad and Gamma Phi Circus Performances.

Both publications are available upon request by contacting Extended University at 438-5288 or by e-mailing Wylie at dkwylie@ilstu.edu. To view online versions of both publications visit exu.ilstu.edu/camps/.

Brochures are also being distributed at local schools, the Children's Discovery Museum, Reed's Sporting Goods, area public libraries and parks and Miller Park Zoo.

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