Instead of children wasting their school breaks watching TV, the U Continuing Education Program has organized Club U as an educational alternative.
Club U, intended for children ages 5 to 13, is designed to help children get more out of their breaks from school.
“(We especially) strive to appeal to kids on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley in order to get them thinking about college someday,” said Nate Friedman, director of Club U.
Club U help kids explore themselves and the world around them by offering activities on and off campus. On-campus activities include performing physics experiments, engineering catapults, dissecting cow hearts, constructing bridges, visiting museums and other educational programs, Friedman said.
Being on campus provides participants with a view of higher education they might not experience otherwise, Friedman said.
When participants are not on campus, they will be outside learning about the environment and cultivating an appreciation for nature.
Anna Halverson, Club U coordinator, said field trips are an important part of the experience and have included visits to the Great Salt Lake, hikes, tours of local museums and a trip to the Utah House, a house built to demonstrate sustainable building and landscaping practices.
Jodi Olson, a Salt Lake City resident, heard about Club U three years ago, and as a working mother, she saw Club U as a good way for her children to stay busy during their breaks without resorting to traditional day care.
“I used to think that the counselors (at Club U) treated my kids special because they are so cute, but later I realized that all of the kids are treated special,” Olson said.
There will be a camp during the Salt Lake and Granite School districts break from Feb. 16 to Feb. 17. The camp goes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days. Tuition is $70, and children of faculty and staff at the U receive a 50 percent discount.
To register for Club U, visit www.youth.utah.edu.