Kirkwood expands summer camp offerings for kids

CEDAR RAPIDS — Kids ages 8 to 15 who are interested in exploring topics from computer science to culinary arts will have more opportunities to do so this year as Kirkwood Community College expands its summer camp program.

Kirkwood Interactive Camps for Kids, or KICK, is offering 27 new programs this summer, for a total of 186.

KICK Director Melanie Bouzek said part of the process for determining which courses to offer involves talking with the kids.

“Each year we try to add on to the variety of camps, so at the end of the year, we kind of see which camps might be a little bit tired or have been offered maybe too many years in a row,” Bouzek said. “As the times change, kids get interested in different things, so we really look for trends.”

In the past few years, Bouzek noticed an increase in interest for cake decorating and baking. So one of the new camps this year will teach pastry culinary skills. Others focus on sewing, acting, science, math, music, computer science and more.

Bouzek said KICK is centered on interactive instruction on topics pertaining to science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

KICK has seen camper numbers rise for the most part since the program started in 2009. Last year, ​1,385 students enrolled in KICK, but enrollment numbers for this year are not yet determined.

“We've definitely been able to add on to the amount of camps and also been able to add on to the amount of kids we serve each summer,” Bouzek said. “We've seen those enrollment numbers go up.”

The camps are held at the Cedar Rapids and Coralville Kirkwood locations, and online camps also are available. The cost varies depending on the camp. Individual tuition rates can be found on the Kirkwood Continuing Education website.

Tuition assistance, which helps with the cost of one camp per child, is available for students who qualify for the free school lunch program. Assistance is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Bouzek said the camps are open to any students who have a ride or have internet access to attend the online options.

KICK instructors

KICK invites instructors from a multitude of disciplines to teach the students. One of those instructors is Faith Curtis, a computer technology teacher at Prairie Crest Elementary in Cedar Rapids. This will be her fourth year with KICK.

Curtis has led a variety of computer science and technology camps, which align with her personal interests. She said the hardest part is deciding what camps to teach.

“ … They really are open to whatever subject and curriculum that you would like to teach,” Curtis said.

She said part of the reason she keeps coming back to KICK is because it’s well-organized with a format similar to Kirkwood’s Continuing Education programs. Unlike other camps she’s worked at, Kirkwood’s program doesn’t require much from instructors beyond teaching, she said. KICK’s structure also has camp counselors accompany and organize students.

“I love that about Kirkwood, because there's so many details that I then don't have to worry about,” Curtis said.

Max Kutilek has been involved as a counselor and manager at KICK for several years. While he is stepping away from his position this year, he said Kirkwood’s organization made his work easier.

That gave him more time to focus on his favorite part of the job: interacting with the campers.

“I've always enjoyed working with kids because, you know, every day is different,” Kutilek said. “Every time you show up, it's going to be a little bit different and you get to interact with kids and just see their vibrant personalities and their creativity kind of show.”