With a name like Here, There, and Everywhere, it's not surprising this particular camp offers a little something for everyone.
“The name of the camp pretty much tells you everything,” said camp co-ordinator Bethany Olson. “We go a little bit here and a little bit there and we go everywhere!”
With an itinerary that had campers starting off the week of Aug. 8 – 12 with a day at the gymnastics club and the skating rink, followed by a day at the museum, a potential trip to the rock climbing wall, a field trip to the new Elk Point Splash Park, and a visit to the Bonnyville swimming pool, the camp certainly intends to deliver.
As well as introducing the children to places they may not have been to in Bonnyville, the camp also teaches them important life skills, Olson added.
“That's a 10 year old and a six year old,” she said, pointing out a pair of children walking across the museum grounds and talking together this past Wednesday. “They're learning to help others, that it's not all about them. They're helping each other out, they have to look out for other people, and they feel good about themselves when they help each other … A lot of times, they have their parents or older siblings with them, and some of these kids are the younger siblings, so it gives them a chance to help kids younger than themselves.”
The range of activities also attracts children with a variety of interests and strengths, she added, allowing them to excel on different days and help those who may not be as familiar with the activities.
“With skating, we have some hockey players in the group,” she explained. “They took some of the younger kids and played hockey with them. Some of our kids have never learned to skate, and by the end of the hour and a half, those boys had taught those younger kids how to play hockey.
“Then there are days like today, when the other kids who are more interested in history are taking the hockey boys around and teaching them about it. They're learning how to interact in lots of different environments, which is good for them.”
Camper Mikayla Drover has already learned something, explaining she did not realize Bonnyville had a museum at all.
When asked what she had learned from her day visiting the facility, she thought for a moment and said, “There's lots of stuff you can't touch in it.”
“We're learning lots of new things,” Dalton Fox declared. “Summer camp is awesome!”
Danielle Alberto explained her favourite part was, “spending time with other kids around my age.”
Becky Rogers, who has attended many camps offered by the Centennial Centre this summer, said, “I love it. I've learned a whole bunch about old artifacts and a whole bunch of cool things.”
When asked if this was her favourite camp of the summer, she said, “I really, really liked all three of them. I couldn't pick a favourite.”
