Kennedy Space Center Summer Day Camps this year features Space Shuttle Atlantis and Angry Birds Space Interactive Attractions

In celebration of the June 29 opening of Space Shuttle AtlantisSM, the new $100-million educational attraction at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, the summer camp is themed “Atlantis: Celebrate the Journey.” Campers will learn firsthand about the engineering marvel of the space shuttle.

Kennedy Space Center offers a week-long summer day camp experience that educates, entertains and engages children ages 8 to 14, from mid-June to the beginning of August.

This year, Camp KSC features two new, interactive attractions that will help launch kids into a galaxy of fun as they pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through exciting educational activities.

In celebration of the June 29 opening of Space Shuttle Atlantis^SM, the new $100-million educational attraction at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, the camp is themed “Atlantis: Celebrate the Journey.” Campers will learn firsthand about the engineering marvel of the space shuttle through a look inside the new attraction, which will tell the incredible story of NASA’s 30-year Space Shuttle Program through a host of multimedia presentations and more than 60 interactive exhibits and high-tech simulators. Campers visiting June 10 through June 28 will receive an exclusive sneak peek inside of the attraction before it opens to the public.

Camp KSC’s curriculum includes an opportunity to:

• · Engage in interactive, hands on STEM activities that surround the science performed during Atlantis’ historic missions.
• · Participate in a simulated space shuttle mission that demonstrates the teamwork and ingenuity of NASA engineers, scientists and astronauts. During the mission, campers may deploy a satellite, dock and transfer supplies to the International Space Station or perform scientific experiments while in simulated orbit.
• · Learn astronaut training, including simulators and virtual skills. Students will hear real-life experiences from a space shuttle astronaut and learn about the risks and rewards of space flight.
• · Work as team to build, test and compete against other teams in the Angry Birds™ Challenge.
  • · Visit Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, see a space shuttle launch pad and more.

In addition, campers will experience the new Angry Birds™ Space Encounter, which opened at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in March. As the first comprehensive, interactive Angry Birds attraction in the United States designed for people of all ages, it incorporates concepts of human space exploration and physics. The attraction was developed in partnership with Rovio Entertainment, which had worked with NASA on the popular Angry Birds Space game.

The Camp KSC program is designed for children entering 2nd through 9th grades and runs Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with early drop-off offered at 7:30 a.m. for an extra fee. Camp instructors are specially trained educators. All campers receive a Camp KSC certificate, an Annual Pass for free admission to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and a specially designed Atlantis-themed Camp KSC shirt. Lunch and snacks are provided.

The camp runs during the weeks of June 10-14, June 17-21, June 24-28, July 1-5, July 8-12, July 15-19, July 22-26, July 29-Aug. 2 and Aug. 5-9.

Camp Kennedy Space Center is located at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame’s^® educational facility, just off US 1 near the west entrance to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Tuition is $295 per week plus tax, paid in advance. For more information or to book a reservation, call 877-313-2610.

About Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex brings to life the epic story of the U.S. space program, offering a full day or more of fun and educational activities, including the Kennedy Space Center Tour featuring the Saturn V Center with an actual Saturn V moon rocket, the new Angry Birds^™ Space Encounter, Shuttle Launch Experience, 3D IMAX^® space films, Astronaut Encounter, Exploration Space: Explorers Wanted and many other interactive exhibits. The new $100 million home for Space Shuttle Atlantis^SM opens June 29, 2013. Admission also includes the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame^®, featuring historic spacecraft and the world’s largest collection of personal astronaut memorabilia, which opens daily at noon and closing times vary by season. Only 45 minutes from Orlando, Fla., Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex opens daily at 9 a.m. with closing times varying by season. Admission is $50 + tax for adults and $40 + tax for children ages 3-11. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Commander’s Club Annual Pass is $63 + tax for adults and $53 + tax for children ages 3-11. For more information, call 877-313-2610 or visit www.KennedySpaceCenter.com.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is operated by Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts at KSC, Inc., a division of Delaware North Companies, one of the world’s leading hospitality and food service providers. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is not funded through tax dollars or appropriated funds. The revenue generated by ticket, food and merchandise sales support the operation, maintenance and development of the Visitor Complex, including the new Space Shuttle Atlantis.

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Palm Beach Zoo special summer programs include Zoo Camp, Friday night ‘Summer Safari’ with entertainment

The Palm Beach Zoo is one of the premier zoos in the country and a rich education program including Zoo Camp and Summer Safari nights makes it a destination attraction © 2012 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

The Palm Beach Zoo has a host of special programs for summer.

Zoo Camp: Come for one week or the entire summer! Each week offers a unique wildlife theme as participants experience zoo keeping activities, behind-the-scenes tours, scavenger hunts, enriching conservation education activities, and interactive fountain time. Participants will enjoy up-close animal encounters, animal exhibit visits, crafts, games, and much more! Programs are offered for ages 5 – 17 years of age. (Reservations required. Weekdays – June 11 – August 17. Spaces are limited. Register Now! www.palmbeachzoo.org Click Education Programs.)

Other family education events this summer include:

Zoo Babies: Discover the different ways animals raise their young. Participants will hop out of pouches, fly from nests, and hatch out of eggs, then travel around the zoo to meet some of the zoo’s very own zoo babies.

2 year olds: 10:00—11:00 a.m. April 26 or May 5

3 & 4 year olds: 10:00—11:30 a.m. April 28 or May 19

Backyard Buddies: Come discover the zoo that’s in your own backyard! From owls to opossums, turtles to snakes, we’ll take a look at the amazing animals that call our backyards home!

2 year olds: 10:00—11:00 a.m. June 14

3 & 4 year olds: 10:00—11:30 a.m. June 23

Color Safari: How many colors can a chameleon be? Learn why color is so important in the world of wildlife, and meet some colorful animals up close.

2 year olds: 10:00—11:00 a.m. July 5

3 & 4 year olds: 10:00—11:30 a.m. July 7

Wings and Things: Flap like a bat, flutter like a butterfly, and fly like an eagle. Come discover the world of animals with wings!

2 year olds: 10:00—11:00 a.m. August 11

3 & 4 year olds: 10:00—11:30 a.m. August 18

Summer Safari Friday Nights

The Palm Beach Zoo stays open late every Friday evening beginning June 1 through October. In addition to daily operating hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Friday evening “Summer Safari” will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. These special summer hours are designed to offer families an opportunity to visit during the cool summer evenings.

Summer Safari evenings feature children’s entertainment, roving animal encounters and shows, complimentary rides on the Wildlife Carousel, live music in the Fountain Plaza, and dinner specials in the Tropics Café. Zoo Admission is free for Zoo Members. Non-members receive discounted admission of $14.95 for adults and $8.95 for children ages 3-12 during Safari Nights. The child’s admission will include a coupon for one free kid’s meal with purchase of an adult meal in the Tropics Café dining room.

The Palm Beach Zoo is located at 1301 Summit Boulevard, just east of I-95 between Southern and Forest Hill Boulevard. There is ample free parking. The zoo is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day except Christmas and Thanksgiving Day. Open Fridays from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. June through October. For more information visit www.palmbeachzoo.org.

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Kauai Marriott Resort on Kalapaki Beach in Hawaii opens Kids Club summer program

Beginning June 23, Kauai Marriott Resort will offer the Kalapaki Kids Club summer program for youngsters ages 5 to 12 years old.

“We designed Kalapaki Kids Club to be flexible and interactive, showcasing the uniqueness of Kauai with fun island experiences all here at our resort,” said Brad Snyder, area general manager. “The kids can participate in a range of activities in a safe, learning environment.”

The day-long program includes lunch, snacks and a t-shirt. The cost per day is $70 per child for hotel guests and $80 per child for non-hotel guests.

The keiki (children) will enjoy hands-on Hawaiian cultural activities from Saturday to Wednesday, including:

“Silly” Saturday – Get ready, get set, get wet! A balloon toss is always fun with a friend or two. Let’s not forget about our obstacle race right on the beach. You will also get to decorate your own visor to wear under the warm Hawaiian sun.

Aloha Sunday – Learn to hula and show off to your friends back home. Hear a bit about our volcanoes here in Hawaii and how our islands were made long ago. Hawaiian story telling is also planned especially for you.

Hawaiiana Monday – We’re going on a scavenger hunt! You will get to see some of the special animals and plants that have made our Gardens of Kalapaki their home. Get a cool Hawaiian petroglyph picture painted on your arm or leg and string fresh flower lei for you to give or wear.

Keiki Tuesday – Fun in the sun with sand sculpting. You will also find out what your name is in Hawaiian and decorate a luggage tag for your journey back home. You’ll also learn about the marine life found right here in the Pacific Ocean.

Makahiki Wednesday – Go “coconuts”, with coconut bowling. You’ll also learn a thing or two about some of the games (old and new) that the children of Hawaii have fun playing every day.

At Kauai Marriott Resort on Kalapaki Beach, families of all ages can enjoy the results of a recently completed $50 million makeover that transformed all areas of the resort. Along with the refreshed guestrooms, the beachfront resort has a new children’s swimming pool with a slide and water features, which complements the 26,000-square-foot signature swimming pool. Youngsters, including teens can also spend time in the new recreation room.

Kauai Marriott Resort is home to a vibrant collection of more than 1,500 red, orange, yellow, and white koi fish, teeming in anticipation and waiting to be hand-fed each morning by resort guests in the Gardens of Kalapaki. From their serene and elegant nature, to the frisky, unforgettable splashing and churning of the pond during feeding time, koi fish feeding is offered daily.

Kalapaki Kids Club reservations are required. Parents and guardians must accompany their children to and from Kalapaki Kids Club.

For more information and details on the most current price and programs that are subject to change without notice, please visit wwww.kauaimarriott.com or call (808) 246-5166.

Located on the serene, family-friendly Kalapaki Beach, the centrally located, 800-acre oceanfront Kauai Marriott Resort on Kalapaki Beach makes it easy for guests to experience the pure splendor of Kauai, world renowned for its natural beauty, isolated beaches, carefree ambience and exhilarating activities. Fresh off a $50 million renovation, Kauai Marriott Resort guests will relax in completely new guest rooms and suites while enjoying the island’s most impressive swimming pool with five saunas. Experience a mixture of creative island-inspired cuisine masterfully prepared at the oceanfront Kukui’s Restaurant featuring the new Toro-Tei sushi bar. Golfers can tee up at this premier Kauai Lagoons golf club, a Jack Nicklaus Signature course offering breathtaking ocean views. To start your island discovery at the new Kauai Marriott Resort, please call (800) 220-2925 or (808) 245-5050 or visit http://www.kauaimarriott.com.

Follow Marriott Resorts Hawaii on Twitter @marriotthawaii or like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MarriottHawaii.

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Journey Through Hallowed Ground Launches Overnight History Adventure Summer Camp

This July, for the first time, middle-school-aged students from around the globe can experience Extreme Journey Summer Camp, which combines U.S. history and heritage with adventure and multimedia in the most historic region in the nation – the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area that runs from Gettysburg, PA to Thomas Jefferson’s home, outside Charlottesville, VA © 2011 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

This July, for the first time, middle-school-aged students from around the globe can experience Extreme Journey Summer Camp, which combines U.S. history and heritage with adventure and multimedia in the most historic region in the nation – the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area that runs from Gettysburg, PA to Thomas Jefferson’s home, outside Charlottesville, VA.

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, which overseas the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, will team with Woodberry Forest School, an internationally recognized independent boarding school in Madison County, Virginia, to host a two-week overnight camp that builds on the enormous popularity of the JTHG Partnership’s day camp, Extreme Journey Summer Camp.

“We transform traditional text-book learning into a truly stimulating experience that exists only outside the confines of the classroom,” said Cate Magennis Wyatt, president of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership.  “Combining digital media technology, creative on-site visits, and expert accounts with outdoor adventures, Extreme Journey leaves students riveted by the past and ready to discover the future.”

Extreme Journey camps – both the day camp and overnight camp — take 6^th through 8^th grade boys and girls on historic adventures through Presidential homes, internationally known heritage sites, and through some of our nation’s most significant national parks.  From the battlefields in Gettysburg to James Madison’s Montpelier, they hike, bike, canoe and spend time with National Park Service Rangers, expert historians, archaeologists, and educators to unlock stories and lessons of leadership found in the region.

During their adventure, Extreme Journey campers assume the identities of key historical figures and are faced with the virtually the same set of facts and scenarios, enabling campers to “walk in the boots” of the historical men and women and better understand the choices and decisions of those who forged this nation.

Using digital media tools, the campers record their experiences, creating a video documentary or Vodcast, focusing on “what leadership means to me.” Their Vodcasts are shared on the JTHG Partnership website, Facebook, and YouTube, creating a “viral” effect of the campers’ insight into national heritage.

“We are proud to serve as ‘home base’ for this exciting summer program,” said Dennis Campbell, headmaster for Woodberry Forest School.  “Woodberry’s superb location and facilities will guarantee an outstanding experience for boys and girls fascinated by American history.”

The two-week overnight camp runs from Sunday, July 10- Friday, July 22, where campers will reside in an air-conditioned dorm at Woodberry Forest School.  There, they can also enjoy the school’s outstanding amenities.  Founded in 1889 and situated on 1,200 beautiful acres in the Virginia Piedmont, Woodberry Forest is recognized internationally as a leader in the education of boys in grades 9 through 12.

This is the fifth year that the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership has offered Extreme Journey day camp, which is hosted in conjunction with the school districts in Albemarle and Loudoun counties in Virginia and in Adams County, Pennsylvania.

Educating teachers, students, citizens and visitors is one of the primary objectives of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership.  Since its inception in 2005,this non-profit, four-state, public-private partnership has developed a variety of educational programs, including the award-winning Of the Student, By the Student, For the Student ™ service-learning program, a high-school Summer Enrichment Camp with the University of Virginia, programs for Loudoun County Applied History classes, the semester-long teacher certificate course taught through the Virginia Community College System, teacher workshops, and semester courses for graduate students at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.

With 400 years of European, American and African-American heritage, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground is a National Heritage Area with a National Scenic Byway running through it.  From Gettysburg to Monticello, it’s known as the region Where America Happened.  It contains more history than any other region in the nation, including National and World Heritage sites; more than 10,000 sites on the National Register of Historic Places; 49 National Heritage districts; nine presidential homes; 13 national park units; hundreds of African American and Native American heritage sites; 30 Historic Main Street communities; sites from the Revolutionary War, French and Indian War, and the War of 1812; and the largest single collection of Civil War sites in the nation.

For more information on the Extreme Journey Summer Camps, including a video overview, go to:

http://www.hallowedground.org/content/view/285/67/

For more information on the Woodberry Forest Overnight Extreme Camp, go to: http://www.woodberry.org/podium/default.aspx?t=124115

The JTHG Partnership is a non-profit dedicated to raising awareness of the unparalleled history from Monticello to Gettysburg.   It has successfully created the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area and has had the Old Carolina Road (Rt. 15/20/231) from Gettysburg, through Maryland, to Monticello designated a National Scenic Byway. For more information, go to: http://www.HallowedGround.org

For more on the 150th anniveresary of the Civil War see:

Tennessee launches Civil War Heritage Trail in time for Sesquicentennial  and slideshow

Chattanooga is key stop on Tennessee’s Civil War Heritage Trail and slideshow

 Civil War comes home to Spring Hill on Tennessee’s Heritage Trail and slideshow

Battle of Franklin: Bloodiest 5 Hours of Civil War marks death of the Old South and slideshow

Carnton Plantation and ‘The Widow of the South’ on Tennessee’s Civil War Trail and slideshow