CTC previews College for Kids
By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
Central Texas College’s Continuing Education held its annual preview day on Saturday morning for its summer programs and classes, known as College for Kids.
This year’s College for Kids theme is “Beyond the Stars”, and the preview was called “Summer Blast-Off”.
New to the preview this year was the appearance of the Killeen Fire Department, with a firetruck and ambulance available for kids to explore. One of the new classes this year is the Junior Firefighter Academy, which will take kids to the fire department’s training area near Conder Park.
The kids will learn about what it takes to be a firefighter and will get to practice with some of their training equipment, according to Sarah Mylcraine, the Community Enrichment Programs Coordinator for CTC Continuing Education.
At Saturday’s Summer Blast Off, kids tried their hand at mastering the firefighter hose, spraying water into the street and even up into the trees.
Lashunda Harper’s son, Qourtland Wilson, made sure to try his hand at the firefighters’ water hose before they left the summer preview event Saturday morning.
Harper explained that this was their first year coming out to see what is available and first time signing up for College for Kids. Qourtland will be taking several of the cooking classes and a video game class, but his favorite class that he is looking forward to is the LEGO Mindstorms- Computer Integrated Manufacturing
“I think this is great, because sometimes, being in Killeen, there’s not a lot for the students to do or the kids to do, so I think it’s a great way to have something different for your children to do,” Harper said. “Usually, you have to drive to Waco or Austin, that’s what I’ve found myself doing a lot of times.”
Clemar and Leah Welch brought their two daughters, Zara and Zaide, to the Summer Blast Off Saturday morning.
They managed to make the “Unicorn Poop” station their second stop of the morning, where kids learned how to make “unicorn poop” from Styrofoam cups and acetone.
“We’re a military family, so when we PCS, we try to look at different things in the area,” Leah said. “With the registration process, too, it kind of opens them up early in how to prepare for college. I think it will be great because I’ve been looking for something for them to do in the area to keep them busy. I think they’re really excited. I want them to do something different this summer, so I’m glad we saw this and they’re offering this.”
Other hands-on demonstrations included creating vision boards, learning basic crochet, watching a robot in action, various art projects, playing chess, and more.
During the Summer Blast-Off, in addition to the hands-on demonstrations, parents were able to register their kids for the upcoming classes as well as meet instructors and tour the facilities.
College for Kids runs from June through August. It is open to kids as young as 3-years-old. Hands-on learning will be offered in topics such as science, arts and crafts, computers, language, music and performing arts, cooking, robotics and exercise.
Pricing for the classes starts as low as $29 for some of the single-day classes, but the longer, more in-depth courses and the Continuing Education courses will be more.
“I think parents are interested in getting their kids back out,” Mylcraine said. “With the whole corona[virus] thing, now’s finally a good chance to get them back out in the community, doing hands on stuff and getting out of the house.”
Some of the returning favorites are LEGO Mindstorms – Computer Integrated Manufacturing (age 14-21); Come Fly with Me (age 9-16) - get a complete briefing on aviation careers, history, oddities and an introduction to student pilot training; and Slippery Slimy Science (age 5+) - learn to make ooze, a lava lamp, plastic milk worms and other slimy and take-home projects.
Among the new courses are 3D Game Design with Unity (age 14-21) - aspiring game designers will learn level editing, 3D modeling, impactful gameplay creation and how to utilize scripts and variables; Battle Royale (age 14-21) - using professional 3D game development software, students will build levels and assets inspired by popular battle royale games like Fortnite; Money $ense (age 7+) - explore the concept of earning money while learning how to properly spend, save and donate. Key vocabulary will be taught and students will put their information into a real-life scenario; Dress-up Tea Party (age 3-6) - learn about social interactions by dressing up in fine party clothes, setting a beautiful table and sitting with friends to share child-safe tea and cookies with real china tea sets, table clothes and decorations. Students will make tea party hats, hold a pink-carpet runway show, decorate cookies and enjoy all the tea time stories that come with a fancy tea party; and Candy Factory (age 7-12) – make gummy candies, rock candy and candy pretzel treats while learning the science behind making candy.
Interested students can fill out an online application at https://form.jotform.com/212974841350154.
For a complete list of College for Kids classes and schedule, visit https://www.ctcd.edu/students/continuing-education/ or call the Continuing Education office at 254-526-1586.