There’s something inherently thrilling about being at school after hours, and that’s one of the reasons why 10-year-old Grace loves summer camp at Forsyth School: the first session has an overnight. “Kids are fascinated,” says her mother, Alisa. “It must be something to do with the books they read about things coming alive after dark.”
Grace is in fourth grade and has attended Forsyth’s Summer Discovery since junior kindergarten. Her favorite session is Bike Camp, where—after learning the ins and outs of bicycle safety—kids head across the street to Forest Park. There, they ride about as a group under their own steam, winding about the bike paths to attractions like the zoo, Missouri History Museum and Saint Louis Science Center.
Forsyth has fine-tuned its summer program over nearly 50 years, and offers more than four dozen camps. It usually adds one or two new ones each year. This summer, it’s Top Secret!, a program that schools budding spies in the business of intelligence. Youngsters will learn the science behind the gadgets and tricks of the trade, and have plenty of opportunities for fingerprinting their friends and keeping tabs on their every move.
“This is joyful, old-fashioned fun,” says Phoebe Ruess, director of communications, describing how special the overnight can feel. Indeed, this is the quintessential stuff of childhood—chasing fireflies as the sun goes down, roasting marshmallows, singing songs, sleeping in tents. Grace’s mom agrees. “A food truck comes for dinner, and there’s a big breakfast in the morning. It’s one gigantic sleepover,” she says.
Meanwhile, around the corner in the Delmar Loop, the studios of Craft Alliance are hives of artistic activity. “Craft Alliance defines the summer for my boys,” says Rebecca Hollander-Blumoff, whose three sons have attended camp there since they were little. Her oldest, Benjamin, says it helps him expand his artistic experience outside school. “I always pick metal and glass, things that are hard to do outside of a place like Craft Alliance,” the 15-year-old says. He makes beads and rings, mosaics and other sculptural pieces.
“In the summer, we give the place up to kids,” says Luanne Rimel, senior director and director of education, explaining that campers get to use all the equipment usually reserved for professional artists. Morning and afternoon sessions take place at both the Loop and Grand Center locations and offer youngsters many different ways to create. “Throw a pot, work with metals and hot glass, paint and draw,” Rimel says, adding that all 10 studios are utilized.
This summer, now that Benjamin is 15, he plans to serve as a teen intern, bringing what he has learned over the years to help out with camps for the younger children. In exchange, he can attend the Teen Camp for 14- to 18-year-olds that takes place each afternoon. “It’s perfect,” Rimel says. “Spend the day lolling about the pool, then come here and do something constructive!”
Each half-day session is a week long, and scholarships—made possible by the Staenberg Family Foundation—are available for needy families.
Pictured: Kids at Forsyth’s Summer Discovery