Its that time of the year when you are torn between screaming “Yay! It’s the holidays” and “Oh no! It’s the holidays”. Let’s go for the former we say, and check out what fun stuff you can get your kids doing so they are not getting YOU climbing up the wall! There seem to be so many summer camps happening in every nook and corner of Bangalore so we did the research and picked a few from every corner that happen to be our favourites and which we wouldn’t mind going to ourselves – if our kids would only let us.

Nisha’s picks from North and South Bangalore, Whitefield and Sarjapur

If there was just one reason for which I would uproot myself from the northern environs and move to South Bangalore, it would be – Rangashankara.

Summer Express 2011 at Rangashankara

Rangashankara is back with its hugely popular Summer Express and this year promises to be one of the best yet. They have Acting and Theatre workshops, Storytelling by Kathalaya, Puppet making and playing by Dhaatu, Science Toys by Arvind Gupta, Cooking, Photography, Car Mechanics, Theatre Songs and Traditional Indian Games by Kavade.  All these activities happen during different weeks starting from April 5 – May 8 and are suitable for various age groups based on the activity from 5 years to 16 years. You can pick and choose the ones you’d like and register for that.

For more information on specific dates, details of each program, prices and age suitability visit Rangashankara.
Registrations start March 26, 2011 at Rangashankara or by email. For details on how to register scroll down to the end of the Summer Programs list and download the document.

An Intense Summer at Jagriti

Jagriti, the new theatre space in Whitefield, has an intensely fun summer workshop planned. The workshop includes Shadow Play, Mime and Movement and Voice and Body among other fun explorations by a trained opera singer, a dynamic, youth focused director and an expert puppeteer.

Dates:  April 18 – April 29, Age:  7 years – 15 years, Cost: Rs.4000.
Venue: Jagriti, Whitefield,
Contact:Rebecca at 99169 38675 or edu@jagrititheatre.com. Register by April 10, 2011.

Duniya Sabki: A theatre workshop by Rafiki

Rafiki, a Bangalore based theatre group, has worked with an increasing focus on theatre for children over the last 14 years. This workshop for kids promises to be a very interesting and different one. The workshop is titled Duniya Sabki, and is based on a poem (by the same title) written by the poet and theatre artist, Safdar Hashmi. Employing theatre games, exercises and their own experience of working with children – the workshop will aim to share and learn from personal experiences. The eight days will culminate into a short performance by the participants involving personal narratives along with the one written by Hashmi.

Age: 9 – 12 years Date: May 7 – May 14, 10am – 12 pm
Venue: Rhythm School of Fusion, 4, Kaikondanahalli, Sarjapur Road (Near Total Mall, Sarjapur Road)
Contact: warafiki@yahoo.com or Call Ravindra on 99863 71543.

Lets investigate: A workshop by Happyness and Tharangini

Tharangini, one of our favourite spaces in Sadashivnagar, in partnership with Happyness, brings a slew of summer workshops for the 4-7 group and the 8 -12 year olds. Their summer programs, in addition to the learning and fun, also brings in an element of social responsibility with a program called “a friend in need is a friend indeed”. A carnival will be created on one of the days where the kids will interact with the children from Sukrupa (an NGO supporting education for under-privileged children). Some of the activities for the younger group are “Dirt Detectives”, “Bones, Bones, Bones”, “Sound Garden”, “Texture Hunt” and more. The older batch will be investigating “Animal Communication”, “Shadow Study”, “Wind Force”, “Green Thumb” and more.

Venue: Tharangani, Sadashivnagar, Dates: April 4th – April 14th, 10am – 1pm, Cost: Rs.1500 – 2500
Contact: Shilpa at 9880633544. Also enquire about their reading and indoor games workshop with Rhoda from April 18 – April 22.

Swathi’s picks from Koramangala, Indiranagar and Richmond town:

Here are a few I picked from my side of town, and I will update this site if I find anymore interesting ones. So, lets start with my favorite – dance and movement!

The Studio for Movement Arts & Therapies (SMArT) has 3 creative dance and movement workshops for children of different age groups.

*Dance Stories is for 3-4 year olds is a workshop, which draws inspiration from “Eurythmy” and focuses on holistic development of the child.

* “Once Upon a Time” for 5 to 7 year olds is a creative movement and craft workshop and ends with a performance based on the origin of dance from the Natyashastra. The children also get an opportunity to contribute to the overall performance not just as dancers but also by creating their own props and parts of costumes.

* “The Prince & His Rose” Based on Antoine Saint Exupury’s ‘The Little Prince” this performance oriented workshop for 8-16 year olds focuses on contemporary dance techniques, martial arts, movement improvisations and text.

For details email :- brinda@smartmove.co.in
Or call Brinda Jacob Janvrin – 9845236242 / Priyanka Pai- 9880137998
SMArT is at #3, Curley street, (Off Langford road) Richmond Town, Bangalore -25

MonKey Maze – Next one on the list is Monkey Maze in Indiranagar which has an unbelievable array of workshops. The best part is the flexibility they offer- Pick ANY week/s of your choice! Pick ANY activity of your choice! Pick ANY time of your choice!

The activities offered are Skating, Gymnastics, Karate, Aero-modeling, Pottery, Craft, Critical thinking and Logical Reasoning, Bollywood dance, Life Skills, Magic, Embroidery and more. The instructors are trained in their sphere of work and the activity is usually for 3 hours with a short break in between. Read our earlier article on Monkey Maze here.

You can check out all the details on their website http://monkeymaze.in/
or call: 080 40957631 or Email : mmmonkeymaze@gmail.com

NaVaRaSa in Koramangala, is a ‘creative space’ where one can learn and enjoy a variety of activities including dance, theatre, crafts and science. They have regular ongoing classes throughout the year and boast a long list of practicing and trained professionals who impart their skill and learning to those interested. This summer they have special workshops on ‘Creative Intelligence’, ‘Specific Theatre, Puppetry and Dance’, ‘Film making for teenagers’ and many more.

Visit their website for more information http://navarasa.co.in/summer-2011/
Email: navarasa.mail@gmail.com
Phone: 91-97412 90592, 98450 75825, 8971455021

HIPPOCAMPUS in Koramangala has an array of workshops for kids from 5 to 14 years. Their topics range from History (time travel!), Art, Creative Thinking, Needlework, Clay Play, Science, Cooking, Aero-modeling, Geography and Mystery Solving! You will be hard pressed to choose I think. You can read about Hippocampus in our earlier article here too.

Visit their website for all the details – http://blog.hippocampus.in/category/summer-camp/
Or call 080-2563 0206

CLAYTOPIA in Indiranagar has Curiouscity coming in to conduct a summer workshop from the 25th of April until the 29^th, and you can read more about Curiouscity in our earlier article here. They also have Clay modeling workshops which of course is just the thing kids love. Also check out our earlier article on claytopia here.

Call Claytopia on 412 67163
Address: Claytopia, 318, 6th Main, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore 560 038
Tel:080 412 67163
Email: claytopia@gmail.com

Happy holidays!

Find More: Arts, Crafts & Classes, Bangalore, Cities, Outdoor Fun

Author: Swathi

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