Looking to escape the lull of summer days and keep busy, Pennsylvania College of Technology has given children the opportunity to do that with Camp ESCAPE.
The seven-week program gives children an opportunity to keep their minds and bodies active.
"We do a lot of active games. We want to keep them active," said Jeremy Bottorf, intermural assistant at Penn College.
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Originally called Summer Youth Adventure Camp, Camp ESCAPE - Enjoy Summer Camp At Penn College Everybody - looks to give children of both college employees and those in the community something to do.
Participants play basketball and other sports in the field house, use campus computer labs and explore other parts of the college.
"We use a lot of the resources here at the college," Bottorf said.
When it comes to activities, Bottorf said dodgeball is a hit.
"Kids love their dodgeball. We play a lot outdoors," he said.
The fact that the children are able to do activities where Penn College students do the same thing is special for the participants, Bottorf said.
"I think a lot of them enjoy that they can play basketball where the men's team does, or use the computer lab," he said.
But the camp doesn't just rely on the college's campus as they travel to other locations throughout the summer.
Bottorf said the camp travels to a bowling alley and swimming pool once a week and other special field trips are planned during the seven weeks.
The trips included Knoebels Grove Amusement Park and watching a State College Spikes baseball game.
Through all of the experiences and activities, participants are able to make great friendships.
"There are a lot of friendships formed," Bottorf said. "They get really excited to see their friends the following year."
He added that the friendships are so tightly formed that when a participant isn't there a day, the rest of the group gets a little down.
"They're very eager," Bottorf said. "We've had kids literally wait at the door for other kids to show up."
The important thing though for Bottorf is the children have fun. He said that "there really is something for everybody."
While some participants enjoy the physical activities better than others, Bottorf said recently some chose to go to the library and read to small children.
"It's a really good program and the kids really enjoy themselves," Bottorf said. "I try to do the agenda (of the day's activities) keeping in mind what (the children) like to do ... We try to keep everybody's interest."
