With the school year winding down and summer around the corner, organizations across the Golden Triangle are preparing a full slate of summer activities.

In Columbus, Frank P. Phillips Memorial YMCA has plenty of openings for its annual Adventure Zone day camp, according to Program Director Jeremy Brock. The camp, open for children ages 5-12, runs from June 1 through July 22 at both the Columbus and Caledonia YMCA branches.

The camp features a new theme each week, including Luau on the Beach, Soar like a Superhero, Mad Science and Backyard Fun, along with coinciding crafts, field trips and other special events.

“We’re just trying to keep it creative throughout the summer for the kids,” Brock said. “… We’ll keep adding kids … throughout the summer until we’re full. … There’s still plenty of time (to register) if somebody is interested.”

Parents can register campers in-house at either branch and can register for one or multiple weeks at a time. Fees vary for each week, ranging between $63 and $140 per week for YMCA members and $81 and $170 for non-members, which includes a morning snack and lunch.

The downtown YMCA branch is also offering a Gamechangers camp for boys ages 11-15 and a Studio 31 camp for girls ages 11-15. Campers will learn life skills, practice devotionals, swim and cultivate friendships during the camp, which will also run June 1-July 22.

The cost of registration is $70 per week for each camper. Parents can register in-house and daily lunches will be provided.

In Starkville, the J.L. King Center is accepting campers for its five-week day camp, where children ages 6-15 will learn from new professionals each week, focusing on physical fitness, culinary skills, good hygiene practice, arts and crafts and more, said Margaret Brown, the center’s youth development coordinator.

“Coming out of the school year, these kids are tired,” Brown told The Dispatch on Thursday. “… This is the time of year where they get to use their whole body – that’s hands on, eyes looking, ears listening and … taking in what the consultant is teaching them – constructive learning. Not using … laptops, just looking and watching and getting the instructions from a person … in front of (them), and then they tackle the task.”

The camp begins June 8 and will run from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Registration costs $25 per camper for non-J.L. King students, or $60 total for groups of two or more children who have participated in previous J.L. King programs.

Those fees cover daily programs, breakfast and lunch, as well as an all-day field trip to the McWane Science Center and Museum in Birmingham, Alabama on the last day of camp July 15.

Brown said while the field trip is often a favorite, students take away something meaningful from the camp each year.

“Every year, I’ve had … students come back to me and … tell me something exciting that impacted them that we did over the summer,” Brown said. “… Just to hear how a kid felt about the summer camp, and they tell me they got something out of it and they enjoyed it, … that’s all the praise and blessing I need.”

Parents can visit the center at 700 Long St. N. to register their children for the event through May 22. People can also sponsor campers whose families’ cannot afford the fee by donating online.

More summer opportunities in the Golden Triangle include:

Mississippi State University

June-July
Starkville
MSU has 28 summer camps still accepting campers for elementary through college-aged students. Camps cover an array of different interests including agriculture, culinary arts, engineering and sports camps. Registrations close beginning the first week of May.

Golden Triangle Theatre

June 8-12; June 15-26
Columbus
There are three camps on schedule for GTT for children who enjoy being on and off the stage. The Technical Theatre Summer Camp, open to ninth-12th-graders, will learn behind-the-scenes skills like running lighting and sound to stage management. In the Young Actors Summer Camp, first – fourth graders will learn lines and rehearse for one week to put on a 30-minute production of Frozen, while fifth-12th-graders will spend two weeks at the Rising Stars and Showstoppers camp to put on a production of Grease. The technical camp and young actors camp will run June 8-12, and registration is $100 per camper; the rising stars camp runs June 15-26 and costs $200.

East Mississippi Community College

June 8-11
Columbus
CAMP AMP will be held June 8-11 on the Communiversity campus with four sessions throughout the week. The camp, open to students in grades 6-8, offers hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, welding, automotive mechanics, electrical technology, engineering design and 3D printing for up to 15 students. Campers can register online through June 8.

Editor’s Note: This is not a complete list of summer camp opportunities for children in the Golden Triangle. To submit your camp for possible publication, email [email protected].