Happy Campers

Wake up and smell the sunscreen, parents. Come mid-June, your kids are going to be flinging their book bags into the corner for good and uttering the words that strike fear into every over-scheduled adult’s heart: “I’m bored! What are we going to do now?”

What, indeed? Fortunately, there are more summertime options around here, and in parts beyond, than you can shake a Boogie board at. (Be warned, though, that many of these programs and camps are filling up fast, so act quickly.)

The roundup that follows will get parents started. But it’s just a sampling. Web surfers can check out such sites as https://www.petersons.com/summerop and https://www/kidscamp.com.

Ground Control to Major Fun

‘Fess up, folks: When it comes to stimulating our children’s scientific interests, most of us run dry after the baking-soda-and-vinegar experiment. And frankly, our kids aren’t all that impressed.

If you’d rather leave that stuff to the experts, consider these venues for summer science fun.

The Launch Pad in South Coast Plaza’s Crystal Court offers two programs for children 7 to 12: Science Camp, in which children design and build wind-powered vehicles, dabble in electronics and kvetch with animals from the Santa Ana Zoo’s Zoomobile; and Exploration Camp, in which they explore the night sky through the Starlab portable planetarium and take part in experiments modeled after ones done by astronauts. Sessions: July 6-Aug. 28. Fees: $150-$170.

* 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa. (714) 546-2061.

Science Adventures, a Huntington Beach firm that offers after-school programs year-round, also hosts weeklong day camps at 11 Orange County parks (also spots in L.A. and San Bernardino counties). Five themed programs are offered, including Gizmo’s Awesome Adventure Park--teaching about inertia, potential and kinetic energy--and Camp Creepy, in which kids use “weird science” to yield mysterious and often gooey results. For kids in kindergarten through sixth grade. June 15-Sept. 4. Half-day and full day offered. $120-$205 per week.

* Various locations, (800) 213-9796.

Even science-phobes may have a hard time resisting the multi-sensory displays at the California Science Center in L.A.’s Exposition Park. If you’re up for a drive, you can take advantage of the center’s Summer Science Education Programs, which include one-day or one-week workshops linked to interactive exhibits. Many sessions already are filled, so register quickly. Program dates and costs vary.

* 700 State Drive, Los Angeles. (213) 724-3623.

Got a budding rocket man or woman at your house? Two resident camps in Northern California can fulfill their dreams of flight.

U.S. Space Camp, adjacent to the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, offers a six-night program for kids in grades four through seven ($675). And, for the Mom or Dad willing to boldly go where no one has gone before, there’s a weekend parent-child session for children 7 to 11 ($600 a pair). Lots of keen hands-on gizmos simulate the experience of astronaut training and space travel. (800) 637-7223, Ext. 11.

Dive Deep for Adventure

Here’s a program with teeth in it. Fishy Families sleepovers at the soon-to-open Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific let campers as young as 5 share quarters with sharks, eels, otters and thousands of other sea creatures. Participants will explore ocean family life through interactive programs, then bed down in one of 47 exhibits housing more than 100,000 Pacific Ocean creatures.

The aquarium, which opens June 20, also offers behind-the-scenes tours and other interactive educational programs for adults and school-age children, as well as preschoolers’ activities and Pacific Explorer programs for youth groups.

Most programs start at $4. Family sleepovers, which start in mid-July, are priced at $50 per person and include activities, two meals and a T-shirt. Reservations required.

* 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach. (888) 826-7257 or (562) 951-1630.

SeaWorld San Diego has a new resident camp for kids in grades four through six. Shamu Adventure Camp is a “hands-on discovery-type camp that focuses on a different animal or topic each day,” a park representative said.

The park offers other weeklong day camp programs, too, as well as family and student sleepovers. In these, intrepid explorers grades two and up learn about the animals in selected exhibits, then cozy up with them for the night (sleepover venues include Shark Encounter, Wild Arctic and the new Manatee Rescue).

Shamu Adventure Camp is $750 per session; day camps and sleepover prices vary, but most are $70-$80.

* 500 SeaWorld Drive, San Diego. (800) 380-3202.

Gnarly, dude! Kids learn basic surf techniques, wave selection (yes, really) and more at Academy by the Sea’s Surf and Bodyboard Camp in Carlsbad. One-week sessions for the resident camp run June 28-July 18. $525. (760) 434-7564.

Beyond Macaroni and Glue

The Huntington Beach Art Center’s Art on the Beach day camp is a one-week program that introduces youths 7 to 12 to a wide range of visual-arts media. Topics include photography, wearable art, mask- and puppet-making, drawing and painting, and art history. Friday afternoons are spent on the beach, and there are weekly field trips to museums and galleries. Sessions begin June 15 and continue through Aug. 21; there’s also a session Aug. 24-28 for ages 4 to 6. Weeklong, half-day or full-day sessions, $90-$155; day care available for an additional cost.

* 538 Main St., Huntington Beach. (714) 374-1650.

The Orange County Museum of Art offers workshop series ranging from animation to photomontage. Classes meet two, three or five times weekly and are open to ages 6 to 12. There also are sessions for preschoolers and for middle school and high school students. Classes, $44-$105, include a tour of OCMA’s galleries.

* 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach. (949) 759-1122, Ext. 204.

World cultures are explored through visual art, music and dance in the Bowers Kidseum Summer Art Camp ’98. Open to ages 6 to 12, the half-day classes meet Tuesday through Thursday for two weeks and may include behind-the-scenes tours of neighboring Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, storytelling, clay work, and the making and playing of ethnic instruments.

* 1802 N. Main St., Santa Ana. $140. (714) 480-1524.

Topics at the Fullerton Museum Center’s Super Saturday workshops for families and Super Tuesday workshops for youths 8 to 12 include cartooning, papermaking and monoprinting. The 90-minute sessions start June 23; reservations required. $6.

* 301 N. Pomona Ave., Fullerton. (714) 738-6545.

The Lively Arts

At South Coast Repertory, the Summer Theatre Workshop offers two-week sessions for youths 8 to 10, 11 to 13 and 14 through 17. The half-day introductory programs are taught by SCR’s Young Conservatory staff and professional designers, actors and theater specialists, and culminate with a recital for friends and family. Sessions are Aug. 3-15 or Aug. 17-29, 9 a.m.-noon. $195.

* 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. (714) 708-5577.

Laguna Playhouse Youth Theater director Joe Lauderdale leads two summer-stock workshops. The junior version for children 7 to 10 includes exercises in improv, pantomime and theater games; students 11 to 14 learn character development and other skills to write their own plays. Both programs culminate with a performance.

Classes for the younger children run 1 to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, July 6-29; price is $200. For older children, classes are 9 a.m.-noon, Monday-Friday, July 6-31; price: $395. Reservations required.

* 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. (949) 497-2787, Ext. 207.

The Laguna Niguel Playhouse Children’s Theatre hosts weekly sessions for aspiring actors 6 to 15. During the seven-week, $110 programs, children learn acting technique, movement and other performance basics, while preparing a one-act performance.

* 23811 Aliso Creek Road, Suite 150, Laguna Niguel. Registration closes May 29. (949) 425-1771.

Another children’s theater group, Broadway on Tour, offers instruction in acting technique, vocal training and other skills, then lets kids show off in a musical variety show. Broadway on Tour’s Summer Follies workshop, $110, runs June 15-July 2. The half-day classes meet Monday-Friday.

* 2190 N. Canal St., Orange. (714) 282-8148.

The Cazadero Performing Arts Camp in the Sonoma redwoods in Northern California features one-week and two-week residence programs for students in fourth grade through high school, as well as for adults. A variety of art forms are explored, including orchestral, jazz and choral music, dance and theater arts.

Session fees range from $250 to $775, according to duration and content. (510) 527-7500.

Here’s an intriguing combo for the camper who wants to go really far afield: The Imagine-ere camp in Escuminac, Quebec. The camp teaches both computer skills and circus skills, enabling campers to design, market and perform an original show. (418) 788-2804.