FEB. 22, 2010 – On the heels of the Great Snow of 2010, the hint of spring in the air over the weekend turned our thoughts to summer.

In turn, we wondered what kind of activities we’d offer to our children in the season of Lowcountry heat.

As always, there are a lot of things kids can do besides watching TV or playing outside: swim teams, Vacation Bible Schools, school-based camps, baseball, hiking, camping and more. Fortunately, the elves of summer are busy at work planning a lot of organized options around town.

Lowcountry Parent magazine is trying to make parents’ summer camp search easier by sponsoring a four-hour camp and education fair on March 7 at Tanger Outlets in North Charleston.

“Sometimes parents have to spend hours and hours – or even weeks – researching camps and schools for their child to attend,” says Doug Kifer, advertising sales manager of Lowcountry Parent. “At our camp and education fair, parents can come get detailed information all in one place.” Learn more.

Here are some options to consider now:

• Kids’ College 2010: Trident Technical College offers 10 pages of camps in its Kids’ College 2010 program for youths from age 7 to 16 on its main and Berkeley campuses. The plethora of options for week-long camps that start June 7 is mind-boggling: Pastry boot camp, computer programming, chess camp, Southern cooking, robots, “mathletes,” photography, creating your own comics, flight simulation and book camp. Some fun-sounding sessions based on their titles: “Computer Forensics,” “CSI Trident,” and “Neuropalooza” – a week-long exploration for junior scientists of how the brain works. Camps run June 7 through Aug. 6. Learn more: http://www.tridenttech.edu/ce.htm
  
• Adventure/Explorer Camps: The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission offers several camps for kids age 6 to 16. Explorers Day Camp, for 6- to 9-year olds, gives children a chance to explore the natural world of the Lowcountry, do arts and crafts and play games. Adventure Camp for 10- to 12-year olds highlights recreational activities like canoeing, biking, kayaking and more. For children 10- to 16-years old, there are also sailing camps and a junior lifeguard program. Camps run at various times starting June 7. Learn more: http://www.ccprc.com/index.aspx?NID=188
  
• Art camps. Young artists can get their ya-yas going at three types of art camps offered by the Gibbes Museum: “In the Forest,” an art-making journey of the world of forests; “Go Global,” a week of developing exciting art projects from around the world; and “Art Story,” a week of developing stories and using imaginations. Camps are in the mornings starting June 7 for children from age 4 to 12. Learn more: www.gibbesmuseum.org
  
• Nature/museum camps. The Charleston Museum offers nature camps at the Dill Sanctuary from June 7 to July 10 for kids age 5 to 10 where they can learn about marsh life, animals and archaeology. An indoor camp at the museum has two weeklong sessions starting July 26 that includes history, ancient Egypt, pirates, dinosaurs and more. Learn more: www.CharlestonMuseum.org.

There’s lots to do in the summers. Help your kids make the most of this magical season.

Andy Brack, publisher of CharlestonCurrents.com, can be reached at: publisher@charlestoncurrents.com. You can follow on Twitter @acbrack.