What’s summer without summer camp? Registration is open for History Colorado’s Hands-On History Camp at Centennial Village Museum, giving kids in first through fifth grades a fun way to learn about Colorado’s heritage. The four-week Greeley summer camp runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Kids can attend any of the weeks. The first week starts July 15 and each week offers a different theme:
July 15-19: Adelante! Experience the Past
Kids will experience how to use their hands to create everyday items that helped people survive with little or no money. Campers will learn to make their own toys, create light without electricity, cook without a stove and build homes without nails.
July 22-26: Full STEAM Ahead
Campers will “move” through history as they make pictures with just sun and chemicals, send messages without a phone and print pages without electricity or computers. They’ll explore how people used science, technology, engineering, art and math to survive and thrive.
July 29-August 2: Greeley: Our Town, Our People
Kids will learn about Greeley and the people who helped build the community. Campers will tour the houses people lived in and learn what school was like100 years ago.
August 5-9: Colorado Changemakers
Have you ever seen Greeley’s Meeker House and wondered about the people who live there? Every town and family has changemakers, and campers will learn about local people who impacted life in Colorado and beyond.
This will be the first year the camp is offered in Greeley. It is one of only two pilot camps run by History Colorado trusted partners this summer. The other camp is in La Junta. The Greeley camp is an expansion of History Colorado’s Hands-On History program, which reflects the organization’s ongoing commitment to providing local communities with high quality, history-based enrichment and educational programs.
“Hands-On History came about due to a shortfall of affordable childcare opportunities in the community of Pueblo and rapidly expanded throughout the state as a core educational offering of History Colorado,” said Tamara Trujillo, Hands-On History program director.
Chris Bowles, Ph.D, museums manager for the City of Greeley, says that the camp offers Greeley Museums an opportunity to reach kids throughout the community and provide them with access to history. “The beauty of the Hands-On History program is that, for the kids who attend, it both creates new awareness and understanding of the past and how it influences the present – and allows their parents to go to work knowing their children are doing something worthwhile,” Bowles said.
To reduce financial barriers, all of History Colorado’s Hands-On History programs offer various automatic tuition assistance options. Families on free/reduced lunch programs, those with multiple children enrolled and parents or guardians who work in education, military or as first responders, are among those who qualify for discounts.
To learn more about camp, tuition assistance or registration, go to historycolorado.org/greeley-hands-history.
Centennial Village Museum is located at 1475 A St. in Greeley. Visit GreeleyMuseums.com for more information about Centennial Village Museum.