Learning Doesn’t Have to End With School Year

Summer presents an opportunity for low-key learning, with classes offered throughout the county to meet children’s interests and often combining fun and creativity with education.

Museums, camps, nonprofit groups, community colleges and other organizations offer a variety of educational programs, and the offerings increase every year. Students can strengthen their computer, math and reading skills. Others may want to explore their artistic side by taking painting at locations such as the Orange County Museum of Art or theater at the Laguna Playhouse Summer Institute. Groups such as the Sea & Sage Audubon Society also offer educational excursions for children interested in the outdoors.

Parents should check with local recreation departments and YMCAs and YWCAs for a list of other summer programs. Most school districts will offer summer courses for enrichment and remediation. Some limit their classes to students within their districts; others are open to students from other towns.

This is a good time to check out the programs and sign up children. Many programs are starting to fill.

The following is a sampling of some of the summer programs for preschoolers to 12th-graders in Orange County:

* The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Santa Ana: Dig, Discover and Create, a program for children ages 7 to 12, teaches about diverse cultures through archeology. During mock excavations, students unearth artifacts to analyze what some cultures may have been like. Sessions: July 13 to July 22, July 27 to Aug. 5 and Aug 10 to Aug. 19. Cost: $160, or $140 for museum members. Information: (714) 480-1520

* Computertots, Computer Explorers, locations throughout the county: Computer training is offered for children ages 3 to 5 and 6 to 12. Skill-building and enrichment classes cover most academic subjects for all levels of computer literacy. It does not matter whether children have a computer at home or possess any computer skills. Information and locations for North County classes: (714) 281-2667; for South County classes: (949) 458-7142. The cost for the four-week classes ranges from $38 to $50.

* Cornelia Connelly School, Anaheim: This Catholic high school is offering coeducational summer courses for high school credit and enrichment. The six-week courses include math, science, English and study skills; they cost $300 each. Classes run from June 21 to July 30. Information: (714) 776-1717.

* NASA Space Adventure Camp: A new program this year offered by Orange Coast College at Newport Harbor High School for grades 1 to 6. Students study the universe. The college also offers the new Discovery Channel Pre+Med program at the same high school campus. Third- and fourth-graders study health and preventive medicine and learn how to set a broken chicken bone. Sessions: June 21 to July 16, July 19 to July 30. Cost: $398. Information: (888) 622-5376, Ext. 1

* Ocean Adventure Camps, Corona del Mar: Weeklong classes are taught at Harbor Day School in oceanography, physics, geology, marine science and related sciences. Afternoons are spent on the beach in the northern part of Laguna Beach, learning ocean safety, snorkeling, boogie boarding and body surfing. The program, which is in its 23rd year, is geared to children ages 5 to 14. Sessions are June 28 to July 15 (registration begins June 15), July 19 to Aug. 5 (registration begins July 7), Aug. 9 to Aug. 26 (registration begins July 30). Cost: $325. Information: (949) 494-1253.

* Orange Coast College, locations across the county: Reading enrichment is offered for all grades, with emphasis on the youngest students in the reading readiness program, teaching phonics and comprehension. Other classes appropriate for students up to 12th grade include computer camp, study skills for success, Spanish, music, drawing, painting and math. Registration is open now for five-week classes from June to August. Prices vary. Information: (888) 622-5376, Ext. 1.

* Orange County Marine Institute, Dana Point: Weeklong sea camps for children ages 11 to 15 and the Marine Studies Institute for teens 13 to 15 begin in July. Registration is open now. Sea camp activities vary, depending on age. The institute allows students to try out the life of a marine biologist, with fish catch-and-release, research projects and homework. Prices vary. Information: (949) 496-2274.

* Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach: Children’s summer art camps for ages 3 to 15 are offered in July and August. There are 20 camps with classes in drawing, painting and sculpture for preschoolers to high school students. Ceramic and jewelry making is offered just for junior high and high school students. Camps also include a visit to museum galleries. The museum also offers theater classes for 7- to 12-year-olds late afternoons in July and August. Prices vary. Registration is open now until classes are full. Cost: $225 or $195 for museum members. Information: (949) 759-1122, Ext. 204.

* Pegasus School, Huntington Beach: For six weeks, this private, independent school offers two-week enrichment day camps for preschool to eighth-grade students. Among the courses: story discussions, art, drama and natural science. The youngest students, ages 3 to 5, also learn about cats and dogs, dinosaurs, cooking and music. Cost: $300 for full-day camp; $200 for the morning session. Registration is open now. Three sessions: June 28 to July 9, July 12 to July 23 and July 26 to Aug. 6. Information: (714) 964-1224.

* Saddleback College, Mission Viejo: Community education classes for children and teens ages 5 to 17 include most academic subjects and sports. Many high schools also will give credit for summer courses, but arrangements must be made in advance. Three two-week sessions are offered beginning June 28 and ending Aug. 6. Prices vary, and registration continues until classes are filled. The college also offers an aquatic program for children from 3 months old to 17, which runs from June 1 until Aug. 13. Information: (949) 582-4646.

* Sea & Sage Audubon Society, Irvine and San Juan Capistrano: Three-day to one-week outdoor discovery programs for children ages 9 to 12. Students examine birds at the Irvine marshes, Aug. 9 to Aug. 13, dissect owl pellets and make their own bird feeders. The session on tracking animals, July 26 to July 30, will take children to marshes and coastal sage scrub as they track wildlife, handle animal skulls, search for frogs and lizards, use microscopes to look at insects and visit the Starr Ranch Sanctuary near Rancho Santa Margarita. Cost: $99 for three days, $165 for a week. Information: (949) 261-7963.

* South Orange County School of the Arts, Dana Hills High School, Dana Point: Students will produce and perform the musical “Bye, Bye Birdie.” Auditions are May 14 from 2:30 to 8:30 p.m. Callbacks are the same day. Students who are interested in backstage work should bring a portfolio to the audition. Participants, who can be in middle or high school, will receive 10 fine arts school credits. The free program runs Monday through Friday from 2:30 to 7 p.m. from June 28 to Aug. 6. Performances are July 28, 29 and 30 and Aug. 4, 5 and 6. Information: (949) 240-1994.

* UC Irvine: The university offers a writing program for students from kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as a math/science workshop for students from kindergarten to ninth grade. Two sessions are held on the Irvine campus from late June to early August. The third session is held in schools in the Laguna Beach and Brea-Olinda unified school districts from Aug. 9 to Aug. 26. The registration deadline is July 15. Cost: $225 for writing class, $230 for math/science class, and $415 for both classes. Information: (949) 824-5922.