Travel the world with SOLA

With gas prices soaring, locals are looking for alternate ways to travel.

Kids are in luck. The South Louisiana Center for the Arts, a Houma-based, non-profit arts education agency, is hosting a trip “Around the Word in Six Weeks.”

The arts and culture camp is open to children ages 6 to 10, and is set for June 2 through July 18. Registration is under way now.

Youngsters will explore through hands-on activities the art, music and movement of the six inhabited continents of the world.

“By offering ‘Around the World in Six Weeks,’ SoLa provides a much needed service to the community it serves and ensures that its youth mature to understand the scope and beauty of the world around them,” said Jonathan Foret, CEO of SoLA.

Designed with Louisiana Arts Content Standards in mind, Foret said the program focuses on the traditional dance and music indigenous to South America (June 2-6), Europe (June 9-13), Asia (June 23-27), North America (June 23-27), Australia (July 7-11) and Africa (July 14-18).

Students take six weeks to travel the globe to discover lands and people across the world. They’ll work in several media, including painting, weaving, papermaking, pottery, printmaking and collage.

The first three-hour session, held from 9 a.m. to noon, focuses on the visual art of that week’s particular region, Foret said. The day includes a supervised lunch break, and then it’s back to the country to explore the region’s music and movement from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Foret quoted one parent who said of last year’s program, “I was pleasantly surprised at just how much the (students) were able to do and learn.”

The camp registration fee for “Around the World In Six Weeks” is $15. The weekly tuition is $120.

For more information, visit www.solacenter.org or call (985) 876-2222.