Enrollment for SU's Summer Enrichment Academies Now Open

By SU Public Relations

SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University’s Summer Enrichment Academies (SEA) return for 2024 with an enhanced lineup of educational and entertaining opportunities for local youth. Registration is now open.

Each academy, geared toward elementary, middle and high school students, lasts five to 10 days. They include a series of topics that allow students to learn more about areas for which they have a passion from University faculty and industry experts. Many academies held on SU’s main campus include “all-you-care-to-eat” lunch at the Commons dining hall.

New academies for 2024 include a selective, intensive, science-based research academy; language learning opportunities; and mixed media art, among others.

Intensive academies include:

• Richard A. Henson School of Science and Technology – Intensive Academy (rising high school juniors, seniors and recent high school graduates), all day, Monday-Friday, July 9-27: Prospective college students will engage directly with SU faculty on a two-week research project. Students enjoy a hands-on science experience with an expert in the field and build community among their peers. Students will work in teams of four with a faculty member leading each team. First consideration is given to applications received by Sunday, March 31. To apply, or for more information, email Dr. Ryan Shifler at rmshifler@salisbury.edu.
• College and Career Readiness Bootcamp (grades 9-12), 9 a.m.-4 p.m. July 29-August 2: This academy provides enrichment activities designed to prepare high school students with the skills they will need to smoothly transition to college or the workplace after they graduate from high school. Students develop skills in choosing a career path, goal setting, time management, studying, public speaking, test taking, critical thinking, problem solving and more. Students also create vision boards that they will share with their families and friends on the last day. Cost is $500.

Additional academies include:

• Eastern Shore Writing Project: Young Writers Workshop (grades 3-5), 9 a.m.-noon June 24-28: This academy offers students a space for informal, playful, creative and expressive writing. Students have the opportunity to sharpen their writing skills, develop a creative writing project and collaborate with their peers. On the last day, they share a piece of their original writing during an open-mic showcase. Cost is $250.
• Craft Time Designs (grades 1-5), 9 a.m.-4 p.m. June 24-28 or July 15-19: This creative, full-day academy offers different options of crafting, including painting by numbers, creating clay animals, making houses out of materials found on nature walks, tie-dye, watercolor painting with salt and learning to fix simple meals. Cost is $250.
• Fun with Art (grades K-3), 9 a.m.-4 p.m. June 24-28 or July 22-26: Students will gain knowledge of various artists to experiment and develop skills in multiple methods of art processes and demonstrate quality craftsmanship. A different artist and theme is featured each day. Abstract painting, collages, splatter painting, cloud dough, salt painting, bubble painting and tie-dye are just some of the techniques students will learn. Cost is $500.
• Campus Tales: Mysterious Ghosts, Crazy Professors and Secret Societies (grades 6-12), 9 a.m.-4 p.m. June 24-28: This academy is for those who love tales about mysterious ghosts, inexplicable occurrences and forbidden secret societies veiled in ancient rituals. Campus Tales helps students understand the connection between creative writing and research, which prepares them for success in the college classroom and at the workplace. Students conduct research at SU’s Edward H. Nabb Center for Eastern Shore History and Culture, and work under the guidance of the Nabb Center’s expert staff. Throughout the week, they read legends from the Eastern Shore and write their own SU campus stories based on the materials they find through research. At the end, they lead a tour of the SU campus during which they tell their stories to the public. Cost is $500.
• Business Simulation (grades 6-12), 9 a.m.-noon June 24-28: Students participate in active business simulation games that will teach them about business processes and activities. They will learn basic accounting, decision analysis and business processes while using an enterprise system. They also will gain hands-on experience to understand the format and structure for business tasks and reports. Cost is $250.
• Summer STEAM Academy (grades 3-5), 9 a.m.-4 p.m. June 24-28 or July 8-12: This academy focuses on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) activities that will encourage critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration, helping to build their confidence and observation skills. Cost is $500.
• World Languages and Culture (grades 6-8), 1-5 p.m. July 8-12: Through an immersion in French and Spanish, students develop an interest in languages and a curiosity for diverse cultures and people. Each day, they explore a new theme (food, holidays, fashion, famous people and monuments). Students engage in hands-on activities such as games, calligraphy, cooking, arts and crafts, and movies. The academy dedicates two days for the Spanish language and two days for the French language. On the last day of the academy, students share with their families what they have learned. Cost is $250.
• Learning Russian Through Acting (grades 6-12), 9 a.m.-4 p.m. July 8-12: This academy is aimed at those thinking about careers in international relations, national security, diplomacy, economics or linguistics who are also creative performers and love theater. Students learn Russian through the process of acting, practicing Russian words, phrases and expressions while working on a Russian-language play which they present at the end of the week. Students learn a new language in a relaxed, creative and fun environment, and work on their leadership, team building and interpersonal skills. Cost is $500.
• We Read to Change Book Club (grades 6-8), 9 a.m.-noon, June 24-28: This week-long book club experience allows middle students who love to read and are passionate about social change to interact with peers by reading the same novel during the week. They will engage in discussions and other activities to accompany the reading, facilitated by an instructor and two teaching assistants. Students will have the opportunity to improve their reading skills, participate in critical thinking activities and visit an area non-profit. Cost is $250.
• 3D Printing Explorers, 9 a.m.-noon July 8-12 (grades 3-5) or July 22-26 (grades 6-8): Students will learn about 3D printing technology and applications, working in teams to brainstorm and work collaboratively on a group project using 3D pen freehand techniques and making 3D structures. Students present their work, receive constructive feedback from their peers, and share their projects with family and friends during a final showcase event. This academy is located at the Dave and Patsy Rommel Entrepreneurship Center at SU Downtown. Cost is $250.
• Environmental Literacy Through Canoeing on the Eastern Shore (middle and high school), 9 a.m.-noon (9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday), July 8-12: This academy informs and inspires students to learn more about the environment and global challenges through canoeing around the waterways of the Eastern Shore. Students learn how they can be a voice and find ways to help others understand global issues related to the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Participants must be able to swim. Cost is $250.
• The Maker’s Playground: Build, Design, Create, 9 a.m.-noon July 8-12 (grades 3-5), July 29-August 2 (grades 6-8): Through maker activities, students will explore concepts in mathematics, art and science, helping them build a maker mindset that can be applied across all disciplines. Students will use Strawbees, a hands-on exploration kit, to build objects, test ideas and demonstrate their understanding of maker concepts. Cost is $250.
• Games (grades 1-5), 1-5 p.m. July 8-12 or July 29-August 2: Students will explore various aspects of game creation, making their own rules, cards, characters and gameboards. Students work in groups to play and test their creations, and learn how game mechanics work while developing team-building skills with their peers. Cost is $250.
• Comics (Grades 1-5), 9 a.m.-noon July 8-12 or July 29-August 2: Students explore various techniques of self-expression through sequential storytelling, character creation and universe-building, using techniques such as drawing, painting, collage and creative writing to tell a story in visual form. Cost is $250.
• All About Health (grades 6-8), 9 a.m.-4 p.m. July 15-19: Students will participate in hands-on activities related to the heart, lungs, muscles and mind, using health care tools as they discover everything that makes the human body so fascinating. Students are able to practice skills like taking vital signs, assessing body movements and investigating cells with microscopes. In addition, they learn to communicate effectively through role-playing activities. Students interact with cutting-edge technology like high-fidelity manikins and a life-sized digital anatomy table at SU’s Richard A. Henson Medical Simulation Center. They also spend a day at TidalHealth, exploring in a hospital setting. Along the way, they interact with health and human services professionals, including nurses, social workers, physiologists, therapists, doctors and others who use these skills daily. Cost is $500.
• Art and Nature (grades 1-5), 1-5 p.m. July 15-19: Exploration and discovery on SU’s campus — a nationally recognized arboretum — are central to the art-making techniques students explore during this academy. Students use a wide variety of mediums to express their connection with nature. Prints, pressings and paintings are used to replicate natural settings uniquely. The creation of birdhouses, wind-catchers, rock art and sun prints connect students’ imaginations with the outdoor world. Cost is $250.
• Mixed Media Art (grades 1-5), 9 a.m.-noon July 15-19: Students explore a myriad of art-making techniques through the combination of painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, fibers and more, expressing their personalities through unique artworks created in non-traditional ways. Working in groups, students collaborate and discover new ways to create. This academy will be in a studio as well as outdoors on SU’s campus. Cost is $250.
• Orchestra (grades 6-12), 9 a.m.-1 p.m. July 15-19: Students will perform in an orchestra and in small ensembles in a supportive, fun environment. They also will have an opportunity to improve their rhythm and aural skills through sessions in a percussion studio and piano lab. Students must provide their own instruments and have at least two years of lessons and playing experience. Cost is $250.
• Entrepreneurship (grades 6-12), 9 a.m.-noon July 15-19: SU’s entrepreneurship team leads students through the process of idea creation, whiteboarding, collaborative thinking, assessment, building ideas, idea design, prototype development, logo and marketing materials, pitch training, and practice. Students participate in a final pitch presentation of their design and marketing plan. Cost is $250.
• We Read to Lead Book Club (grades 2-5), 9 a.m.-noon July 15-19: In this week-long book club, students read the same books, discuss what they read and engage in activities based on the books they share. Students read a different picture book each day and will improve their literacy skills, participate in critical thinking exercises and enjoy social interaction with their peers. Cost is $250.
• May Literacy Center Live Action Film Academy (grades 3-9), 9 a.m.-noon July 22-26 or July 29-August 2: Young filmmakers will work together to produce their visions on screen. Students hone their writing skills and produce and act in their own short films. They also engage in storyboarding, script writing, filming and video editing using the latest software tools, sharing their films with family and friends during a final showcase. Cost is $250.
• Scavenger Hunt (grades 6-8), 9 a.m.-noon July 22-26: This academy provides opportunities for fun, team building, exercise and critical thinking while two teams of students search the SU campus for clues and hidden objects. Teams are led by instructors and teaching assistants who will make sure students navigate the campus safely and have game-winning support. Cost is $250.
• Sprouting Success for Migrant Students (grades K-5), 9 a.m.-4 p.m. August 5-9: With a focus on STEAM, students engage in academic learning in a university context while having fun. Students must qualify for the Migrant Education Program or the National Farmworker Jobs Program, or obtain permission from SU’s College Assistance Migrant Program director. Admission is free.
• Cultivating the Roots of Migrant Students (grades 6-12), 9 a.m.-4 p.m. August 5-9: With a focus on STEAM, students engage in academic learning in a university context while having fun. Students must qualify for the Migrant Education Program or the National Farmworker Jobs Program, or obtain permission from SU’s College Assistance Migrant Program director. Admission is free.

Scholarships are available for all summer academies through funding provided by the Donnie Williams Foundation. Information about scholarships is available on each academy’s registration page. Parents should use the promotional code provided there for the discounted amount.

For more information, visit the SEA webpage or email.

Learn more about SU and opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at www.salisbury.edu.