ShawneeDispatch.com

The Academy of Arts and Science Institute is adding a temporary location in Shawnee this summer to complement camps offered at the Shawnee Civic Centre.

The new location is at 12244 Shawnee Mission Parkway, across from Westlake ACE Hardware, and opened in response to overwhelming demand for camps last summer, said director Karen Wartko, a Shawnee resident.

Wartko — who founded the academy in 2005 — said the academy offers classes during the school year in spaces rented through the Shawnee Mission school district, but the academy can’t rent those spaces during summer months. Instead, day camps for robotics, Star Wars-themed classes on schematics and Model United Nations classes have been offered at the Shawnee Civic Centre, where almost half of this summer’s camps will still take place.

The first camp at the academy’s Shawnee Mission Parkway location will be a Lego Challenge session for ages 7 through 12 at 1 p.m. July 5. Fees for the academy’s summer activities run from $10 for Parents Night Out — a two-hour movie night parents can drop children off for — to $90 for its robotics, Star Wars and pirates-themed schematics courses.

Camps like the Lego Challenge, Star Wars and pirates-themed offerings fuse subjects like engineering, robotics and schematics with familiar and entertaining subjects, Wartko said.

“It’s a great way for kids to learn with a medium they’re used to working with already,” she said. “Kids don’t even realize they’re learning.”

Wartko said the academy, a nonprofit organization, is seeking sponsorships within the community. She said she founded the academy hoping to provide an after-school opportunity in the mold of athletics for students interested in science or arts programs.

“I see this as filling a gap,” she said.

Wartko, whose son Christopher inspired her to found the academy, said interest from area parents led to the creation of more than a dozen robotics teams and the academy’s founding.

Wartko called the new summer location something of a “litmus test” to see whether future expansions will be pursued.

At least initially, she said, getting the word out has been a challenge. She said the Shawnee Mission school district does not allow fliers to be distributed for students to take home while the academy has been limited in funding for advertising.

Low enrollment forced the cancellation of a Model United Nations camp that was set to begin last week, but Wartko said another camp will be scheduled in July.

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