CAMP RED CLOUD, South Korea — Nine weeks of recreational activities for soldiers’ children kick off Monday with the start of Camp Adventure Summer Camp in Area I.
Yong-Ae Black, the Camp Red Cloud-based recreation specialist who supervises the summer camp, said the program is for children from non-command-sponsored families living within the 2nd Infantry Division area north of Seoul. Army Community Services estimates 800 non-command-sponsored spouses and children live in Area I.
Two students from the University of Northern Iowa College of Education will arrive this week to assist with activities, Black said.
The summer camp will offer swimming lessons Mondays and Wednesdays; bowling classes Tuesdays; and arts and crafts, songs, games and field trips, she said. “The lifeguards at the Camp Red Cloud swimming pool will teach the children to swim and the bowling alley has plenty of small shoes and balls for children,” she said.
All field trips will be in Area I and include visits to places such as Yong Green House, an outdoor park with orchards, a movie theatre, play area and other activities; a South Korean herb farm and the Camp Howse Arts and Crafts center. The children also are to visit a South Korean pottery shop where they can make pots, which will be glazed and fired in a kiln and returned to them, Black said.
The native South Korean said she hopes the children can learn a little about her country’s culture during the camp. Another field trip might include a visit to a local temple, she said.
Each week of the camp will have a theme, organizers said. Themes include: “Fin-tastic Ocean Jamboree,” “Rootin’ Tootin’ Rodeo Round Up,” “Hip Hip Hooray — Happy Birthday U.S.A.,” “Enchanted Emerald City of Oz,” “Slam Jammin’ Sports Celebration,” “Incredible Interstellar Mars Space Race,” “Outrageous Olympic Odyssey,” “Noble Knights and Crazy Castles” and “Mad Science Mania.”
Camp Adventure, based at the University of Northern Iowa, runs at U.S. military bases worldwide and served up to 10,000 children per day in 2003.
So far about 10 children have registered for the Area I camp, said Black, who is surveying the children to find out what activities they prefer. Most, she said, have expressed interest in playing computer games and sports.
Black said the campers might get a visit from her own four-legged “children,” a pair of dogs named Tiny and Peanut.
Up to 20 children between the ages of 6 and 12 can attend on any one day. The summer camp costs $45 per week or $80 per week for two children.
