Wildcat Kids Camp at NMU

Summertime means getting the kids involved in outdoor and physical activities, and that may be a bit easier with help from Northern Michigan University youth camps.

Wildcat Kids Camp is for kids ages five to ten, and there’s a Wildcat Tween Camp for sixth grade and up.

Both camps are held at NMU’s indoor athletic facilities, but there’s plenty of outdoor fun, including sports, crafts and team-building initiatives.

“We already had kids ask us, ‘so, can I bring my iPod or my video game?’, and I was like, ‘no, no electronics at camp’. It’s a big rule we have,” recreational sports program manager Tricia Bush said. “One, we don’t want anything to go missing for the kids, but more importantly, we want to keep them active and moving around so they can stay physically fit and healthy.”

There’s also a learning session each week that focuses on healthy living and being eco-friendly.

“We’re doing a wellness activity each week where we have a staff person come in, so they get to teach about the vegetables, the fruits, the grains, the protein, just so they give a little bit of everything and they learn more about it, and we provide a snack for them,” Bush said. “We also learn about outdoor adventures and environment through our eco-camp, so when they’re going through the woods hiking, they don’t throw their water bottles out in the woods, they pick up what they take with them and hike it back down the trail kind of thing.”

Signup forms are available at the Recreation Sports office inside the PEIF on the NMU campus.