-- The Northumberland County Conservation District and Penn State Cooperative Extension are sponsoring two summer camps for local youth. “YAC” or Youth, Agriculture, Conservation, runs from 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. July 14-16 in the Dave Unger Environmental Education Center, 441 Plum Creek Road, Sunbury. Cloverbud Day Camp runs from 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. July 28 - 30 at the same location. Registration deadline for both is June 26. For information or to register, phone the conservation district at 286-7114 ext. 4 or the Extension office at 988-3950.

-- The Greater Susquehanna Valley YMCA. Sunbury YMCA — 286-5636, at 1150 N. Fourth St., Sunbury, and Arts Center, 286-0818; Milton YMCA — 742-7321 at 12 Bound Ave., Milton.

Both sites offer summer day camp programs for the children who use the Y services after school as well as those children who do not. Camp places fill fast; Sunbury has a waiting list for places this summer and a few are on the list for Summer 2010. Sunbury programs are similar to the Milton program, with different field trip days. For information phone Ann Bausinger at 286-5636.

Milton has space for 100 children, and currently has 90 enrolled, with room for 10 more. Milton’s program includes: field trips throughout the summer to the community pool, Knoebel’s Grove, Little Buffalo, Roller Skating, and a trip to a Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees game; Summer Food Service Program: children can receive a free brown bag lunch throughout the summer if they wish to. The lunches are made at the Milton YMCA, there is no charge attached with this program. Activities are fun filled, age appropriate; children are grouped as Cubs (Grades K-3), Big Bears (Grades 4-6) and CIT’s (Counselors in Training, Grades 7 and up); Full Day (9:00am-4:00pm), Early Care (6:30am-9:30am) and Late Care (4:00pm-6:00pm). For information, contact Liz Fuentes at the Milton YMCA, 742-7321.

-- Susquehanna University. Elementary and middle school children can engage in a unique educational experience at Susquehanna University’s Kids’ College during three summer sessions in July and August. Kids’ College is open to all students who have completed grades 2-8. The camps are designed to challenge students academically and help them develop their creative, critical thinking and cooperative learning skills in a welcoming educational environment.

All sessions are held on the campus of Susquehanna University. Because of the interactive nature of the activities, sessions are limited to 15 campers each. For more information or to register, call the Office of Conference and Event Management at 372-4354 or visit www.susqu.edu/cem.

July 20-24: Grades 2-5. The morning session will be held 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. daily. Fees for both the Primary Kids’ Summer Camp and Intermediate Kids’ Summer Camp packages are $185 per student.

This is the first year that pre-third graders can participate in the Primary Kids’ Summer Camp. The self-contained program, “Explore! Learn! Play! Create!,” will foster hands-on creative discovery experiences around cultural and historic topics in an age-appropriate setting.

The Intermediate Kids’ Summer Camp for students who have completed grades 3 through 5 features a three-session package, including the workshops “How to Think Like Leonardo,” “Westward Ho!” and “The CANS of Creativity.”

“How to Think Like Leonardo” lets kids imagine themselves apprentices of the great master Leonardo Da Vinci, focused on immersion, discovery and exploration of the world that inspired the artist’s creative genius and expression.

“Westward Ho!” takes student campers back to the days of U.S. westward expansion, giving them a taste of prairie life through a variety of activities, including eating pioneer food and constructing covered wagons.

“The CANS of Creativity” is a workshop that develops creative thinking skills and shows students all they CAN do.

Afternoon session students will have the option of continuing their day at camp to explore an afternoon special interest topic. The afternoon session, from 12:45 to 3 p.m. daily, includes a brown-bag, supervised lunch and costs $70.

Afternoon sessions for students who have completed grades 2 and 3 will include a choice between “Bug It Up!”, a nature-related arts and crafts workshop, and “Cinq Jours En France: Un Voyage Incroyable!,” a simulated travel experience focused on French life and culture. Students who have completed grades 4 and 5 can choose between “From Plant to Plate,” a science/cooking workshop that follows the journey of food from field to kitchen, and “Curtain UP!,” an interactive theater and improvisation workshop.

Aug. 3-7: Grades 6-8. Junior Writers’ Workshops for middle school students will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon daily. Students will work closely with trained instructors and Susquehanna creative writing majors to develop communication and writing skills and build confidence. The fee for the workshop is $165 per student. Students attending the writers’ workshop also will have the option of continuing their day at the teen camp to explore an afternoon special interest topic.