For students entering grades 4, 5, 6 & 7

Time: 8:30 am to 3:00 pm

Students will learn more advanced techniques of filmmaking to create documentaries, and recreating a scene from a TV show or movie. We’ll be working on skills like creating a script with other writers, recording good audio, interviewing techniques, shooting B-Roll, reverse angle shots for dialogue,  and editing with iMovie. Everyone will have opportunities to try their hand at all aspects of the process in front of and behind the camera. The last day of class will be the premiere of the films created during the week.

Tom Knight is a videographer and filmmaker who loves teaching. Besides making videos for musicians and web sites, Tom is also a puppeteer and songwriter and has been performing regularly at schools, libraries and festivals for over 25 years. To learn more about Tom Knight go to TomKnight.com or view his video “Elephant’s Lullaby” on YouTube. This is his 7th year teaching in the MSN Summer Program.

Ages: For students entering grades 4th through 6th grade

There is a secret world of strange creatures all around us, from faeries to goblins. Some have been here for millennia, and some stowed away with immigrants from other parts of the world. Though they are often shy, and avoid adults, they sometimes reveal themselves to kids and artists.

Spend a week using art to reveal these mysterious creatures. We’ll draw and paint, make clay models, and assemble field guides to describe what we think these creatures look like. We’ll also make masks to try to blend in with the friendly ones and scare off the not-so-friendly. We’ll even make small homes and habitats to attract and house magical creatures that might be looking for a safe place to settle.

Schedule:

• 8:45 Class begins
• 12:00 Dismissal for morning students. 
• 12:00-1:00 Recess and lunch for students signed up for Master Minecraft Engineering using LEGO Materials (PM class)

Rob Kimmel is an illustrator, graphic designer, and educator. He has an MFA in writing for children from Simmons University, and taught at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He is rarely seen without a pencil in hand! Born and raised in Chicago, Rob worked in the theater for several years and has traveled extensively from North Africa to South Asia. These varied experiences flavor his approach to art and writing. He has taught at the MSN Summer Program for the last seven years.

Ages: for students entering 1st through 3rd grade

Time: 8:45 to 12:00

Venture into the world of Minecraft in our unique LEGO® experience. Get ready to build your base, craft your tools, use your Minecart to harvest raw resources, and battle to stop the Ender Dragon from ending the world. Come explore the endless possibilities of LEGO® with a trained Play-Well instructor

Daily Schedule

• 8:45-9:00 Arrival and greeting
• 9:00  First LEGO meeting
• 9:15  LEGO projects and programming
• 10:30 Outside break time
• 10:45 LEGO programming resumes
• 12:00 Dismissal. PLEASE NOTE: Students registered for the 1:00 pm afternoon program (Art Adventures: Magical Creatures I) stay for lunch & outdoor recess.

Play-Well TEKnologies was founded in 1997 and has run LEGO® building system programs for summer camps and after schools all across the country. Through the use of fun-filled LEGO® engineering and architectural projects, Play-Well helps children learn problem-solving skills and self-reliance while fostering creative expression.

Ages: For students entering grades 1st through 3rd grade

Time: 1:00pm to 4:00pm

There is a secret world of strange creatures all around us, from faeries to goblins. Some have been here for millennia, and some stowed away with immigrants from other parts of the world. Though they are often shy, and avoid adults, they sometimes reveal themselves to kids and artists.

Spend a week using art to reveal these mysterious creatures. We’ll draw and paint, make clay models, and assemble field guides to describe what we think these creatures look like. We’ll also make masks to try to blend in with the friendly ones and scare off the not-so-friendly. We’ll even make small homes and habitats to attract and house magical creatures that might be looking for a safe place to settle.

Schedule:

• 12:00-1:00 Lunch & Outdoor recess for students registered for Minecraft Engineering using LEGO Materials (AM class) and Art Adventures: Magical Creatures I (PM class)
• 1:00 Afternoon students arrive. Class begins.

Rob Kimmel is an illustrator, graphic designer, and educator. He has an MFA in writing for children from Simmons University, and taught at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He is rarely seen without a pencil in hand! Born and raised in Chicago, Rob worked in the theater for several years and has traveled extensively from North Africa to South Asia. These varied experiences flavor his approach to art and writing. He has taught at the MSN Summer Program for the last seven years.

Ages: for students entering 3rd grade to 7th grade

Time: 1:00 - 4:00

Bring your favorite Minecraft adventures to life with our enthusiastic Play-Well instructors. In a Minecraft world powered by LEGO® resources, we will build shelters to keep out Creepers, craft mystical items that only true masters can wield, and perfect our crossbow skills to stop the Wither from taking over! If you can imagine it, we can build it.

Daily Schedule

• 12:00 Lunch & Outdoor recess for students registered for both Art Adventures: Magical Creatures I (AM class) and Minecraft Master Engineering using LEGO® Materials (PM class).
• 1:00 Afternoon only students arrive. First LEGO meeting
• 4:00 Dismissal 

Play-Well TEKnologies was founded in 1997 and has run LEGO® building system programs for summer camps and after schools all across the country. Through the use of fun-filled LEGO® engineering and architectural projects, Play-Well helps children learn problem-solving skills and self-reliance while fostering creative expression.

Ages: 10-15

In this new MSN music program students become rock stars! In one week, participants will learn, record, and perform a set of songs culminating in a rock concert. The week begins by organizing campers into groups (bands!) and creating a set list for the big show. Then the bands learn and rehearse their sets, focusing on musical technique and performance skills. On Thursday students “go into the studio” and record the tracks they’ve learned. On Friday the bands perform a professional rock show in front of a live audience!

Students fill out questionnaires when they register so we can place them in groups with other students of similar experience and musical preferences.

Eli Litwin is Northampton-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, blogger, and teacher. He graduated from the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University in 2006, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance and Music Technology. In the Spring of 2014, Eli earned his master’s degree in Music Education from the University of the Arts. His music career has included numerous appearances on record label projects playing jazz, rock, metal, classical and experimental music, as well as being the recipient of multiple arts and music grants. For over a decade Eli taught percussion, guitar, bass, piano, and ukulele while directing various K-12 school ensembles in the greater Philadelphia area. He was a senior staff member at the Summer Music Program’s Rock Camp at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, PA for students aged 11-17. Eli currently is a K-8 music teacher at the Joseph Metcalf School in Holyoke.  

Ages: for students entering 1st through 3rd grade

Time: 8:45 - 12:00

Level up your LEGO® Engineering skills in this arcade-inspired experience. Our Play-Well instructors are here to help make your favorite video game adventures a reality. Using LEGO®, we can build go-karts to race Mario, blast asteroids with Star Fox, build neighborhoods with your favorite friends from Animal Crossing, and join Link to restore peace to Hyrule. All the fun of an arcade adventure with no screen necessary!

Daily Schedule

• 9:00  First LEGO meeting
• 9:15  LEGO projects and programming
• 10:30 Break time
• 10:45 LEGO programming resumes
• 12:00 Dismissal for morning students. 
• 12:00-1:00 Lunch & Outdoor recess for students registered for Unplugged Gaming using LEGO® Materials and Intro to Graphic Novel & Comic Book Art (PM class). 

Play-Well TEKnologies was founded in 1997 and has run LEGO® building system programs for summer camps and after schools all across the country. Through the use of fun-filled LEGO® engineering and architectural projects, Play-Well helps children learn problem-solving skills and self-reliance while fostering creative expression.

Ages: Entering grades 5, 6 & 7

Time: 8:30-12:00

If you like comics, you can make comics! Graphic novels and comic book storytelling are great vehicles for young people to discover the writer within themselves. In one week, you’ll learn techniques to create characters and experiment with ways to tell stories through the combination of words and images. Turn a doodle into a character. Add a second doodle and they can have a conversation. Put them in a panel and you have a scene. Draw a second panel and you have started a comic. Instructors introduce the idea of storytelling through images (both as readers and as creators), sequential art, and the concept of character as the defining force in stories.

Schedule:

• 8:45 Class begins
• 12:00 Dismissal for morning students. 
• 12:00-1:00 Lunch & Outdoor recess for students registered for ADVANCED GRAPHIC NOVEL & COMIC BOOK ART and Next Level Gaming using LEGO® Materials (PM class).

Rob Kimmel is an illustrator, graphic designer, and educator. He has an MFA in writing for children from Simmons University, and taught at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He is rarely seen without a pencil in hand! Born and raised in Chicago, Rob worked in the theater for several years and has traveled extensively from North Africa to South Asia. These varied experiences flavor his approach to art and writing. He has taught at the MSN Summer Program for the last 7th years.