The University Of Idaho hosted Odyssey Camp last week, which introduced what university life is like to fifth through eighth graders from Libby School Center in Spokane, Wash.
Marilyn Pope, senior administrative assistant and a representative from UI for organizing Odyssey Camp said the main purpose was to teach them the importance of higher education.
Pope said Odyssey Camp started in 2009 and happens in the summer every other year.
“It started out with 90 kids in 2009, and then 2011 they had 190, and this year they have 280 students,” Pope said. “It’s exciting. We try to provide them an amazing Vandal experience and educational opportunities for them.”
Pope said UI departments and colleges presented academic lectures, including animation, archeology, theatre, chemistry and business. They also provided sports activities at Student Recreation Center.
For one activity, the College of Business and Economics collaborated with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to present a real-world simulation.
Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Educator Karen Richel said the simulation is a game where students can learn and experience their future life in a fun way.
“We have 20 different booths and each one of the booths is an expense,” Richel said. “So we have the students come in and they are given a job and the money that goes with that job. It’s all a make believe game.”
UI Accounting Instructor K.D. Hatheway-Dial said students were given a job and a family situation. Along with that they were learning basic financial-planning, decision-making and goal-setting skills.
Hatheway-Dial said there were many types of expenses such as groceries, transportation, housing, childcare, medical insurance and taxes.
Richel said there were at least 20 volunteers for each day to be at each booth. She also said it was a helpful experience for children to understand the management of their money, and even the volunteers learned a lot of things from helping out.
“There’s actually a policeman that moved around,” Richel said. “If you’re moving too quick you get a ticket, if you’re going too fast, (or) if you’re cutting in line.”
“If you don’t provide childcare for your kids and the policeman finds out, then you get a ticket for neglect,” Hatheway-Dial added.
Sally Williams, one of the parents who attended Odyssey Camp, said overall the camp was a great experience for the parents and kids.
“I think it was fun to see the great times the kids were learning things,” Williams said. “And anything, you know, that’s related to real life, it is good.”
Nurainy Darono can be reached at [email protected]