ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM | RAM TALKS ART | CAMP COLLAGE FOCUSES ON 'GOING GREEN'

RAM Talks Art: Camp Collage focuses on Going Green

By Elizabeth Dailing, Education Director, Rockford Art Museum

It's hard to imagine summer in this country and not think of summer camp. But we have a summer camp that will make you think…

Camp Collage is a collaborative effort among Rockford Art Museum (RAM), Discovery Center Museum and Rockford Dance Company. Each year, we solicit student recommendations from District 205, third- through fifth-grade teachers. We then go through these applications and choose 60 of the best-qualified children to attend our free, weeklong summer camp. This amazing opportunity allows children who might otherwise not be able to attend summer camp the chance to do just that, with no financial burden on their families.

This year's theme is right up there with current media trends: “Going Green: Exploring Energy through Art, Dance and Science.” Our campers will spend a week with every organization doing activities that emphasize different properties of going green. While one group of children is busy making flashlights with Discovery Center, another group is busy at RAM making plastic bag kites and rain sticks.

It's a way to make learning fun and see the connection between disciplines that children may never know existed.

One of the coolest aspects of Camp Collage is that it's hosted at one site, Riverfront Museum Park. And, with integrated planning, not only will campers be making flashlights and rain sticks, they'll be using them in performances choreographed by Rockford Dance Company.

Each day, campers move through the museums, learning and doing hands-on activities related to the Going Green theme. They become familiar with the facilities and begin to realize these museums belong to them. They are here to learn from and explore what lies within.

After four mornings of camp, the final day of Camp Collage includes a dance performance, art exhibition and science fair type atmosphere all in one, where campers show off their week's work and projects to family and friends.

And this year, we have done something different. Because we can only accept 60 children into Camp Collage every year, it is always a struggle to choose and admit a limited number of students to participate. So, if you have a third- through fifth-grader at home this summer and want them to experience a little “Going Green: Exploring Energy through Art, Dance and Science,” download our RAM lesson plans from our Web site. You will find a materials list, images, and instructions to create your own “green” projects at home. ( www.rockfordartmuseum.org/teacherresources)

Without community buy-in from groups like Alpine Kiwanis, Camp Collage would not be possible. By funding this program, organizations are making Camp Collage a reality for 60 children in this community. Camp Collage is also partially supported through operating grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and Rockford Area Arts Council.

So, we hope everyone learns a little from Camp Collage this summer. Whether it's the kids who get to attend, community members seeing campers benefiting from interdisciplinary learning, community organizations collaborating together or simply parents doing green projects at home. It's nothing but good things this summer with Camp Collage!

Contact Rockford Art Museum Education Director Elizabeth Dailing at edailing@rockfordartmuseum.org.

from the July 16-22, 2008, issue

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