Summer science camps for kids

North Kildonan

Linden Ridge

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This article was published 12/06/2024 (522 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Who says summer and science don’t mix?

This summer, Engineering for Kids Winnipeg will host five-day summer camps each week from Monday, July 8 through Friday, Aug. 23 (with one four-day camp Aug. 6 to 9) in two locations: North Kildonan United Church (174 Pentland St.) and the Serratus Movement Centre (1-55 Henlow Bay). Each day will feature a number of STEM-related activities, which will be hands-on and focused on developing foundational skills and concepts, as well as classic summer camp games and activities.

“About half the day is engineering activities, with different themes depending on which week,” said Kylee Kolesar, owner and director of Engineering for Kids Winnipeg. “We have coding and more hands-on building activities. The other part of the day will be outdoor activities, like a water day and a bouncer one day, and outdoor jumbo board games and sports.”

Themes include Engineering 101, Playful Playgrounds, RoboGames, Amazing Race, and more.

“We have lots of space still,” Kolesar said. “But it’s always better to guarantee your spot.”

Kolesar, a North Kildonan resident with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Manitoba, bought the business last year. She said she is happy to be offering more programming across the city, particularly closer to home for her, as well.

“Since last year we’ve been doing a lot of after-school stuff, a lot of it with RETLife (River East Transcona School Division’s lifelong learning department), so it’s nice to get into the school division and have regular kids that we see again and again,” Kolesar said. “We have twice as many camps as last year, now that we have this second location at the North Kildonan United Church, which has a big green space, so we get to do more classic summer camp activities outdoors, as well.”

Engineering for Kids is also offering sponsored camper spots for low-income families at the north camp location this summer, thanks to a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. For Kolesar, sharing her love of science and engineering with kids is a rewarding experience in and of itself — not least as an example of the growing number of women working in STEM.

“I feel very pleased to be doing this,” she said. “I was one of a handful of women in my engineering degree program, and those numbers are growing. (Half) of our staff, including myself, and both of our site leads this year are female-identifying, and the staff as a whole come from all different backgrounds. So the success of these camps is not just for myself to say I’m doing a good job with my business, but I do genuinely feel like a tiny little piece of a bigger movement. We’re proud to be contributing our little bit to the bigger work of shaping the future of STEM.”

Camps run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Cost for a five-day camp is $300, while the four-day camp is $240. For more information, or to register for sessions, visit www.engineeringforkids.com/winnipeg or call 204-818-1866.