Summer camp smorgasbord

Jack Ruttan

What's that squealing you hear in the distance? The noble skirl of convocation bagpipes? Nope. Just gaggles of kids having a blast at some of the many summer camps hosted by McGill this summer. Here's a small sampling of some of the summertime fun:

For the junior jock

Budding multi-sport superstars will be sweating and grunting their little hearts out at the McGill Summer Sports Camp. Whether they are executing an aerobics' grapevine, pitching a googly in a cricket match or executing a perfect fireman's carry on an unsuspecting camper during a wrestling bout, these kids don't ever quit.

For the budding couch potato

Face it, if you really want a kid's undivided attention, all you have to do is whisper the magic word "Xbox" into his ear. So in what godlike esteem do you think kids hold parents who eschew the annual week-long purgatory at Camp Black Fly for a stint at McGill's "Be a Computer Scientist for a Week" Camp? Participants get to design a robotic mission to Mars and develop a new software game.

For the baby brainiac

OK, so some children just don't dig the smell of A535, although they can tell you that the active ingredient that gives it its zing is capsaicin. These baby brainiacs will be strutting their grey matter at the REACH! Camp, jointly run by McGill and Concordia. Chemistry, physics and chemical engineering are just some of the thrills and chills that add up to good times.

For the sawed-off songster

You know how teens walk around wearing black and sulking all day? Could just be adolescent angst — or they could be in training to front the world's next big garage band. McGill's Camp Artemusik's Garage Band Camp could be a stepping-stone to MTV. And for kids with a little Ethel Merman in them, Artemusik's Broadway Camp will have them hitting their marks and belting out the high notes.