Curiosity, Creativity, and Learning Flourish in Hillside Summer Youth Programs

120+ children and youth from Duluth's Hillside neighborhoods are broadening their horizons in the sciences, arts and literature this summer thanks to a partnership of the Duluth School District and the Duluth Parks and Recreation Department. These programs offer children and youth quality instruction and mentoring from certified teachers, VISTA and AmeriCorps members, youth program staff, work-study students, and enthusiastic volunteers.

The Young Explorers Summer Adventure Camp, housed at Nettleton Math/Science Magnet School offers elementary-age children opportunities to study animals, lake ecology, and robotics. In addition, many children also participate in the “Fairy Tales, Myths, and Folklore" program, a unique reading enrichment camp offered in the afternoons.

The East Hillside Youth Theatre is a-buzz with 60+ elementary, middle-, and high school youth who are involved in the production of “Cinderella X 3" a multicultural presentation of Cinderella stories from around the world. The students are studying the universal themes of injustice, hope, friendship, miracles, and the realization of dreams through the Cinderella X 3 plays which are rooted in the Caribbean, Irish, and Ojibwe cultures.

In addition to providing space for both the YWCA Day Camp and East Hillside Youth Theatre Camp, the Grant Community Center is also home to the Imagination Station which meets afternoons June 15th- July 23rd. This program provides creative activities emphasizing literature, culture, life-skills, science, and the arts.

Neighborhood youth are welcome to drop in any time during open hours to participate. For more information about any of these programs, call the Grant Community School Collaborative office at 733-2016.