Renaissance Kids Architecture Camp

Registration is open

A group of Renaissance Kids architecture camp participants pose with a tiny house they constructed. (Photo by Mark Moreno)

The Andrews University School of Architecture & Interior Design invites the community to register for the 13th annual Renaissance Kids architecture camp. This unique program, themed “Compelling Dwellings” this year, provides children and teens ages 5–16, in four different age groups, the opportunity to engage in fun, creative and educational hands-on projects associated with architecture.

Those who attend Renaissance Kids will build items related to house and home in support of “Tiny Houses for Big Change,” a ministry of the Benton Harbor Saint Augustine’s Episcopal Church youth group, which has raised over $30,000 to build a tiny house for a person in need. Harbor Habitat for Humanity is committed to donate land. Among other items, Renaissance Kids constructions from both last year and this year—including three playhouses, dozens of birdhouses, and doghouses—will be auctioned on Sunday, Aug. 4, from 2–4 p.m. at the Andrews University Architecture building. Proceeds will be donated to the “Tiny Houses for Big Change” project. According to Cara Gillespie, St. Augustine’s youth leader, “The kids have led the way in building a community-wide collaboration that will not only help one of our friends and neighbors but also help us as a parish to more fully live into Christ’s teachings.”

Mark Moreno, founder/director of Renaissance Kids and associate professor in the School of Architecture & Interior Design, emphasizes that partnering with Saint Augustine’s and Harbor Habitat shows how people and institutions of all kinds need each other to promote whole human health. He says, “Engaging the youth in this way empowers them to believe they can make meaningful impact on their communities.”

Renaissance Kids began in 2007, with a goal of “building with kids to build kids up.” It aspires to make complex ideas accessible to young minds by providing tools for them to better understand the relationship between people and the physical world. Sessions are assigned according to age, with the first session beginning Monday, June 10, and are available at a variety of dates and times.

Ages 5–7
Session A1, June 24–28, 1:45–5:15 p.m., $165, Architecture building
Session A2, July 8–12, 1:45–5:15 p.m., $165, Architecture building
Session A3, July 29–August 2, 8:30 a.m.–12 p.m., $165, Architecture building

Ages 7–10
Session B1, June 10–14, 8:30 a.m.–12 p.m., $165, Architecture building
Session B2, June 10–14, 1:45–5:15 p.m., $165, Architecture building
Session B3, June 10–14 (all day), 8:30 a.m.–5:15 p.m., $340, Architecture building
Session B4, August 5–9, 8:30 a.m.–12 p.m., $165, Krasl Art Center

Ages 10–12
Session C1, June 24–28, 8:30 a.m.–12 p.m., $165, Architecture building
Session C2, July 8–12, 8:30 a.m.–12 p.m., $165, Architecture building
Session C3, July 29–August 2, 1:45–5:15 p.m., $165, Architecture building
Session C4, August 5–9, 1:45–5:15 p.m., $165, Krasl Art Center

Ages 13–16
Session D1, Design-Build Teen Workshop, July 15–26 (two weeks, all day,
excludes weekend), 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., $390, Architecture building

Space is limited. For more details and to register, visit andrews.edu/renkids.

To follow the build project throughout the summer, visit facebook.com/renaissancekids.architecture.