School will be back in session before we know it. In the meantime, some kids are soaking in summer and enjoying camps.
Animals and artwork: it might not be a combination many would normally think of for a summer camp, but this week inside Maclean Animal Adoption Center in Great Falls the two are coming together.
“We get to choose whatever color we can choose a background of our blue dog,” explained camper Morgan Lopez as he worked on an art project.
Miranda Murray is the instructor for the Animals and Art camp. This week, first through third graders are creating animal-inspired art projects using various mediums.
“We get to go around the animal center and the kids can draw the animals we see and they get to do observation drawings, and they paint, and we make cat toys and dog toys and we made some bird feeders this time,” said Murray.
Part of the Maclean Animal Adoption Center’s mission is to provide shelter for animals, and educate the next generation to make better pet owners and reduce the homeless pet population.
Along with learning about art, campers are taught how to properly take care of animals. Each camper is assigned a cat at the center to take care of for the week.
“It’s really fun to see the bond the kids make with the animals,” said Murray.
“Cause I really love animals and I want to learn more about animals and take care of the animals here at the shelter because they really need care and stuff,” explained camper Adam Fliginger.
The camp provides an animal education, while also tapping into the kids’ creative side to learn more about their environment and themselves.
“That person has different art looking than mine because we aren’t the same person,” explained Lopez.
The campers are also helping out with an art project downtown. The kids are painting boards that will be displayed in the empty windows of the Rocky Mountain Building in downtown Great Falls while construction is underway.
Read more about the Maclean Animal Adoption Center and their camps here.
-Reported by Shannon Newth/MTN News
