Kids' and Teens College Brings Back Full Summer Schedule of In Person, and Virtual Classes

Kids' and Teens College Brings Back Full Summer Schedule of In Person, and Virtual Classes

The Kids' and Teens College at the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) is underway with a full schedule of in person summer classes for the first time since 2019. Virtual campus is also still available.

Students can choose from a wide range of classes including artistic pursuits such as "Painting Picasso,” to STEM explorations in “Icky and Sticky Science,” to hobbies such as “Cooking Around the World” and “Drone Racing and Obstacle Course Challenge.” 

In person classes kicked off the week of June 21 and will run through the week of Aug. 15 on the La Plata, Prince Frederick, and Leonardtown campuses. Weekly classes at the Velocity Center in Indian Head kick off July 5. Kids' and Teens College classes are available for students aged 5-17. 

“I am excited to get back to some level of normalcy and have that young childlike energy back into those classrooms,” said Tony Warrick, CSM’s youth program manager for the Kids' and Teen College.  “It brings me joy to see those young faces on campus again, to see those kids excited again, and for them to experience new things.” 

The young students will have advantages that come with attending summer classes on a college campus: many classes are led by experts in their field, and students will have access to resources unavailable elsewhere.  For example, “3D Printing for Teens” will take students into the Velocity Center’s state of the art Makerspace, which is equipped with maker equipment including 3D printers/scanners, laser cutters, and soldering irons, as well as hardware and software for cyber/gaming, CAD modeling, simulation, app development, robotics, and prototyping. 

"I am most excited to teach kids about how all forms of science, technology, engineering, art, and math can be used to shape our very world, said De'Leon La Fleur, who will teach the “STEAM for Teens” class at the La Plata campus and is a former Kids' and Teen College student. “I also want them to see how these different subjects are used every day, without them even knowing it.”

Betsy Linn said that her 8-year-old son, Robbie, attended “Jedi Engineering with LEGO” class last year, and both he and his younger brother will attend several sessions this summer. 

"Robbie raved about his LEGO class to his younger brother,” shared Linn. “They both wanted to take so many of the new classes and had a really hard time narrowing down their choices.”  

However, most offerings over the last two summers have been virtual. Warrick said that, ultimately, the development of a virtual campus was a benefit of the pandemic and that is why CSM is continuing that programming.    

“I’m proud that we were able to maintain a program during the pandemic, and now we have an online campus and a virtual experience to complement our in-person classes,” he said. 

Virtual classes kicked off the week of June 6 and will run through the last week in August. Students learning virtually can explore interest-based classes such as “YouTube FX Masters” or prepare for academic success with classes like “Organizational and Study Skills.” 

Space is still available in many sessions.  Explore the full list of offerings at https://www.csmd.edu/programs-courses/non-credit/personal-enrichment/kids-and-teen-college/index.html.  

Velocity Center classes can be found at  https://www.csmd.edu/programs-courses/non-credit/personal-enrichment/kids-and-teen-college/velocity-stem.html.