HOUSTON — Many places that normally offer summer camp programs said they’re not ready to open the doors this summer. Those that said they will open said they'll take in about half the number of kids as usual.
Summer camp is a tradition for many, but like many things, summer camp will look a little different this year.
“A lot of parents that we talk to ... kids have been cooped up for weeks and even months they're just going stir crazy as I’m sure the parents are, too. That is part of the reason we have had a good response from parents,” said Stephanie Taylor, Executive President of Organization Impact YMCA.
YMCA Houston is one of several summer camps that’ll open their doors to kids next week. They’ll be in small groups, their temperature will be checked every day and social distancing will be enforced. The YMCA said these are all procedures they’ve been working on enforcing.
“We have had an opportunity to do that and practice since Mach when we started doing essential personal day care," Taylor said.
Another camp that will also open their doors on June 1 is the Houston Museum of Natural Science. They said they’ve made changes to accommodate the children.
“They will have to come to the main location. They have to have a mask on to get into the building and we are going to have people taking temperatures,” said Nicole Temple, with HMNS.
Social distancing will be practiced in the classrooms. And they’re even trying something new to make sure kids wash their hands constantly.
“We have dobblers of glow and the dark ink. So when they sign in the camp every day they get a dot on the back of their hand. They can’t see it but we can see it with a black light. Their goal is to get it washed off before the end of the day,” Temple said.
Houston Space Center is planning to host a summer camp in July and they hope to release more details soon.
Boy Scouts will have at-home activities for the kids to do. But they're also working on a plan for single day camp for middle and high school kids.
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