Geneva Nodland
Opportunities for FM youth at our local Higher Education Institutions!
While you or your kids might not be thinking about college just yet, don’t discount the many opportunities open to the community’s youth at our local higher education institutions! Check out the variety of camps and activities offered in the area!
Minnesota State University Moorhead
College for Kids & Teens
Minnesota State University Moorhead’s College for Kids & Teens is a summer camp program designed for students in grades K-12, offering all-day and half-day (morning and afternoon) camps that span a wide array of subjects, including arts and sciences. Leveraging technology and creativity, expert instructors guide young participants through immersive learning experiences, fostering exploration, adventure, and a comprehensive appreciation for various topics, all within an engaging and educational environment. The program also offers add-ons for early drop-off and late pick-up to fit a family’s needs.
The College for Kids & Teens scholarship program facilitates access for local youth to attend these summer programs on campus, specifically aiding families for whom covering the full registration cost poses a financial challenge.
Learn more here!
Early Education Center
MSUM offers on-campus childcare, welcoming children from the campus and community to their toddler program (16 months to 3 years) and preschool program (3-5 years), for both full-time and part-time enrollment. Within a safe and nurturing environment, the center prioritizes fostering language proficiency, self-reliance, and both physical and emotional development through engaging, active learning experiences. Tailoring to each child’s unique needs, the program emphasizes educational foundations, promoting independence, problem-solving abilities, creativity, social interaction, and holistic growth through a diverse array of activities.
Learn more about the Early Education Center here!
Scrubs Camp
Scrubs Camp at Minnesota State University Moorhead provides a dynamic and exploratory experience for high school students, entering grades 9-12 in the fall of 2024, who are eager to delve into the multifaceted world of healthcare careers. Taking place predominantly on the university’s campus, participants engage in diverse healthcare-related activities, while also getting a taste of college life and forming new friendships. This exciting program, co-sponsored by HealthForce MN—a center dedicated to healthcare innovation, diversity, and learning— offers not just knowledge, but also fun and camaraderie for every aspiring healthcare professional.
See if the Scrubs Camp is for your teen here!
Dragon Athletics Sports Camps
Minnesota State University Moorhead, through its athletics department, offers the community an array of youth sports camps designed to cater to various age groups and skill levels. Offering an engaging and skill-enhancing environment, camps span across a multitude of sports, including Football, Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Women’s Soccer, Swimming & Diving, and Wrestling. These camps not only aim to foster athletic skills but also embody the spirit and excellence of Dragon Athletics, providing young athletes an opportunity to immerse themselves in a collaborative and empowering sporting environment.
Learn more about the variety of Dragon Athletics camps here!
Planetarium
MSUM’s on-site Planetarium captivates and educates audiences of all ages with a vast array of multimedia presentations, providing both awe-inspiring and informative experiences. Visitors are invited to embark on a journey through the solar system and beyond with the help of a night sky simulation, delivering stunning imagery via the elite Elumenati projector and Uniview scientific software—tools utilized by the nation’s top planetariums. Affordably priced for all to enjoy, the facility, which seats 62 and welcomes 10,000 visitors annually, offers a diverse monthly selection of shows, especially tailored towards youth, ensuring experiences that are not only educational but also immensely fun!
See what shows are coming up for your family to enjoy here!
Dragon Swim School
MSUM’s Dragon Swim School stands out for offering superior swimming lessons in the Fargo-Moorhead area, maintaining a notably low student-to-instructor ratio of 4:1. With classes organized by skill level rather than age or height, the program prioritizes the teaching of crucial swimming and water safety skills to children. Guided by experienced, assured, and expertly trained staff, comprised of college students and varsity high school swimmers/divers, emphasis is placed on foundational water safety skills such as back-floating and kicking. This approach ensures that if a child falls into the water, they have the knowledge to roll over, kick, and navigate safely to the poolside, dock, or shoreline.
Learn more about Dragon Swim School here!
Concordia College
Cobber Kids
Cobber Kids at Concordia College opens its doors to children ranging from 16 months to Kindergarten age, providing them with a nurturing educational environment. This childcare center, renowned for its robust ties with the campus community, facilitates invaluable interactions between the children and Concordia faculty and students, ensuring a vibrant, learning-rich setting. Having undergone a comprehensive self-study and on-site evaluation to secure its NAEYC accreditation, a notable hallmark of high-quality early childhood education, Cobber Kids adheres to the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and over 400 related Accreditation Criteria, underlining its commitment to delivering exceptional early education and care for over 25 years.
Check out more about Cobber Kids at Concordia here!
Concordia Language Villages
Concordia Language Villages stands as a pioneer in delivering global education through its expansive language and cultural programs that encompass 18 languages. Annually, the initiative attracts thousands of young individuals, educators, as well as adults nationwide, immersing them in enriching language and cultural experiences, both in the picturesque, immersive camp settings within Minnesota’s North Woods and through highly engaging virtual platforms. Participants of varying language proficiencies are welcomed to “live the language” through an array of programs ranging from brief weekend sessions to comprehensive, lifelong linguistic journeys!
Learn more about this immersive language learning program here!
Want to learn even more about the opportunity at Concordia Language Villages? Check out Fargo Monthly’s indepth feature on the program, including an interview with the program’s Executive Director Mary Kosir! Grab a copy of November 2023’s magazine or head to issuu.com/fmspotlight to check it out!
Sports Camps
Concordia College’s athletics department offers a variety of Cobber Sports Camps, providing athletes, K-12, with a range of skill levels an array of sports camps and clinics in disciplines such as Baseball, Esports, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Women’s and Men’s Soccer, Softball, and Volleyball. Young athletes are given the opportunity to explore, enhance, and excel in their chosen sports, while also understanding the spirit and values that characterize Cobber athletics!
Keep an eye out for Cobber sports camps and clinics here!
NDSU
STEM Kids Camp
NDSU offers the dynamic STEM Kids Camp, designed to spark and nurture young minds’ fascination for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Welcoming students from grades K-12, these summer camps, hosted by NDSU’s College of Engineering, delve into a vast range of STEM topics, often going beyond the usual school curriculum. As part of the STEM Kids Camp, the Explore Engineering High School Camp spans a week, immersing these students in diverse engineering disciplines with mornings dedicated to hands-on lab sessions with NDSU faculty and afternoons comprised of engineering industry excursions. From computer coding, robotics, and forensic science to the intricacies of engineering, entrepreneurship, roller coaster design, and the wonders of chemistry, each camp promises a comprehensive and enjoyable learning journey!
Learn about the variety of camps offered and sign up for spring 2024 registration here!
NDSU Bison Camps
North Dakota State University’s athletic department is proud to offer NDSU Bison Camps—a series of youth and high school sports camps designed to cater to diverse age groups and abilities. These camps offer young athletes an immersive experience in sports including Baseball, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Football, Soccer, Softball, Track and Field, Volleyball, and Wrestling. Guided by skilled trainers and coaches and set in the spirit of Bison athletics, participants have the opportunity to hone their talents, learn new techniques, and immerse themselves in their chosen sport, ensuring an enriching and skill-enhancing experience!
Learn about each sports camp an keep an eye out for registration here!
4-H Cass County
Since 1967, the North Dakota 4-H Program, an integral part of NDSU Agriculture, has been offering enriching camping experiences tailored to foster life skills essential for wholesome living, personal growth, and productive use of free time. An array of specialized camps are available, including those focusing on farm safety, livestock management, fishing, horse riding, culinary arts, and many more hosted on 80 acres of pristine wooded riverfront land, just 1.5 miles west of Washburn, ND. The ND 4-H Camp has been a haven for youth, providing them with memorable overnight camping experiences led by a team of professionals trained in outdoor activities, science, agriculture, and youth development. Beyond structured educational programs, the camp is filled with recreation, from hiking trails and mud pits to archery, plus, campers can enjoy Dutch oven culinary adventures, evening bonfires, the exhilarating waterslide, and vibrant dance sessions.
See the variety of camps offered for your family to take part in, as well as the variety of year-round programming that 4-H offers here!
North Dakota Governor’s School
North Dakota Governor’s School is a fourweek residential program for scholastically motivated North Dakota high school sophomores and juniors that takes place during the summer. Students live, work, and have fun on NDSU’s campus.
Governor’s School academic programs offer high-quality, concentrated instruction from NDSU faculty through classroom experiences, discussion groups, labs, field trips, and other activities.
If you are gifted academically and interested in learning more about Engineering, Information Technology, Laboratory Science, or Mathematics, apply to become a member of the North Dakota Governor’s School class of 2024 here!
Moos, Ewes and More
Meet the animals that call NDSU home, the farm managers who care for them, and the faculty and staff who teach and do research in the NDSU Department of Animal Sciences. Moos, Ewes and More will have a mix of new and old activities from previous years, kids’ games and activities, a scavenger hunt, and chances to visit the “prize pen.” There will also be opportunities to bottle feed a calf, guess the feedstuffs, and see research in action!
Keep an eye out for the NDSU Animal Sciences Department to announce this event around September
Boo! at NDSU
Head to Boo! at NDSU for a free family-friendly carnival and trick-or-treating event that is open to the community. NDSU student groups will host a carnival throughout Cater Hall where youth from across the community can come in their costumes and participate in games, crafts, and other Halloween activities. In addition to the carnival, Cater, Seim, Sevrinson, and Thompson will be open for trick-or treating.
Plan your spooky season with NDSU and watch for this event’s announcement in October!
Kiddie Days
NDSU Saddle and Sirloin Club invites any daycare, preschool, or kindergarten class to come to Kiddie Days, an event for children to see, learn, and ask questions about various livestock. Hosted by the NDSU Animal Sciences Department around April!
Mind Mysteries (Psychology)
Take part in these take-home experiments called “Mind Mysteries” which are available for families and include experiments based on drawing, coloring, or using stickers to show us what kids think about faces, objects, and textures. Families can either return their completed packets to the library or mail them directly to NDSU via a postage-paid and addressed envelope included with the materials. A new Mind Mystery is available about every six weeks, and is located at all three branches of the library (in the Children’s Room at the Main Library and at the circulation desk at Northport and Carlson)!
Littles Art Day
An exciting collaboration between Children’s Theatre NDSU, Plains Art Museum, Gasper’s School of Dance, and the Fargo Public Library is the FM Area’s premiere arts festival for children ages 5 and under. This May, families with toddlers and preschoolers are invited to participate in a wealth of creative programming including:
- The Ugly Duckling, a play designed for toddler audiences and their families by Children’s Theatre NDSU
- An interactive gallery experience by the Plains Art Museum
- Itty-Bitty Ballet class by Gaspers School of Dance
- Storytime by the Fargo Public Library
DADDS
DADDS (Dads And Daughters Do Science) is a one-day event this spring that allows young girls to learn and explore the different branches of science while doing handson activities with their dads. The day consists of various stations including a Biology, Chemistry, and Physics station. Daughters will be exposed to various STEM fields, and dads will learn more about how to encourage their daughters to pursue their interests.
This event is hosted by the College of Engineering, learn more here
Mommy, Me and SWE
Mommy, Me, and SWE (Society of Women Engineers) is a one-day event, typically held in October, for girls in grades K-2 and their moms. Throughout the morning, moms will work with their daughters doing hands-on projects introducing them to the different types of engineering!
Learn more about the event here!
TechKids
Details: During this five-week program, typically one evening per week in October, children in grades 3-5 are introduced to different types of science and engineering concepts through handson learning. TechKids is put on by the NDSU chapter of the Society of Women Engineers.
Learn more about how your kids can get techy!
Tech Teens
Tech Teens is a one-day program for students in grades 6-12 in the springtime to explore the different engineering practices through several projects. By focusing on these projects, students will be able to see what different types of engineers do when working towards solving problems in their fields. This is a great opportunity for teens to get hands-on experience learning how to form scientific questions and solve them.
Learn about the program and register here!
BisonCyber Day Camp
Taking place this summer, at BisonCyber Day Camp, teens will learn programming, cybersecurity, robotics, and other computing skills at this free day camp available to students entering grades 9-12.
Check out more about this opportunity and how to register here!
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day gives area 8th-grade girls a full day focused on the field of engineering, including hands-on activities and industry visits. The NDSU College of Engineering uses the event, which takes place in February, as part of its outreach activities aimed at inspiring girls to consider an education and career within the STEM disciplines. Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is part of National Engineers Week activities that are celebrated nationwide.
Learn more here!
HOPE Camp
HOPE (Health Occupations and Professions Exploration) Camp is a fiveday camp, typically in June, at NDSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences and Sanford Health that introduces high school students from rural areas to jobs in health care through on-the-job views of nursing, pharmacy, paramedics, radiologic technicians, respiratory care, and much more. Students explore career options through interactive workshops learning from professionals, while also experiencing campus life.
Watch for registration announcements for HOPE Camp here!
