To register for STEAM Summer Camps: utc.edu/challenger-learning

Got plans for the summer? Or perhaps a more critical question is: Do you have plans for your kids for the summer?

If the answer is no, UTC has a suggestion: The summer camps at the Challenger STEM Learning Center on campus.

The weeklong camps are designed to fit the abilities of kids from kindergarten to eighth grade and offer learning opportunities that are fun, hands-on and informative. (Don’t tell the kids they’re going to learn something, though. Just say they’re going to have a blast.)

Registration is now taking place for the camps and space is limited.

• Multiple grades running concurrently within the same week (convenient for siblings of different ages).
• Most camps run 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and cost $275 per week. The new Jump Start! kindergarten preparation academy runs 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and costs $200. Lunch for 1^st-8^th grades is $10 per day.
• Jump Start! Limited to 10 participants; all other camps are limited to 20.

The camps are:

• Jump Start Summer. Rising kindergarten. July 22-26.
• Have your rising kindergartener ready before the big day arrives. Classroom-ready skills will be highlighted through activities structured around books, crafts and games. Each day will start with group time and end with a short snack period.
• Water, Water Everywhere. Rising 1^st and 2^nd June 10-14 & July 15-19. Although we rarely sit down and think about it, water is an integral part of our everyday lives. In this camp, we use it to learn more about buoyancy, weather, living things and art.  Included are a simulated space mission and a trip to the Aquatic Recreation Center pool.
• The Sound in Music. Rising 3rd and 4^th June 10-14 & July 15-19.
• Mornings will be spent investigating what sound is and how it is experienced while the afternoons we will apply sounds to create different forms of music as well as have a quick snack. Included are a simulated space mission and a trip to the Aquatic Recreation Center pool.
• Where in the World? Rising 5th and 6^th June 17-21 & July 8-12.
• Do you know the way to San Jose? At the end of a week with geography, measurement and geology, your child certainly will. Students also will use technology to help tell a story. Included are a simulated space mission and a trip to the Aquatic Recreation Center pool.
• Innovate Summer. Rising 7^th and 8^th June 17-21 & July 8-12.
• Your rising seventh or eighth grader will experience a week packed with hands-on and interesting activities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. Students also will learn ways to use several types of technology. Included are a simulated space mission and a trip to the Aquatic Recreation Center pool.