For children between five and 12 interested in journalism, there is a day camp at Pier 21 this summer that might just be the perfect fit for them.
“This year, we wanted to look at different countries around the world through the eyes of the media and how culture is represented through that,” says Pier 21’s education manager, Elisabeth Tower.
The name of the camp is Tuning-In Around the World and it’s happening from July 19 to July 23. Children will have the option of attending a full week’s worth of programming or they can choose to attend half-day or full-day sessions.
Children will learn what’s making headlines worldwide and will even become the media themselves.
“They’re going to be creating their own broadcasts,” says Tower. “We’re going to be looking at different types of media each day, so they might make their own newspaper article one day and then the next day, they might make their own weblog and the next day, they might do a photojournalist kind of piece.”
For the past few years, Pier 21 has hosted one weekly summer camp a year. Past camps have included looking at folktales and legends, as well as different countries around the equator.
“We always try and do a multicultural theme,” says Tower.
The full-day camps run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., while the half-day camps take place during either a morning or afternoon session. A full-day camp costs $30 (or $140 for the week) and a half-day is $15. There is also a 15 per cent discount for Pier Pass members.
Tower hopes the camps instill a sense of change in the hearts and minds of the children.
“If they come away with a growth experience or a change experience, then that’s the ideal for me,” she says.
