Summer camp gives Hallie Richardson a chance to learn something new.

For the past three years, Richardson has participated in Columbus State University’s Activ8 summer camps and learned about sewing, architecture, dance, etiquette and manners and web design.

The camps usually last one week, so Hallie can try out several in one summer. Her mother, Laura, said Hallie spends about two-thirds of her summer at camps.

“What I like about it is it gives kids a chance to try something new without the commitment,” Laura said. “It’s just long enough to get them exposed to what it really is.”

All of the camps are held on CSU’s campus. Camps are divided into three groups: the Activ8 Academy, for kids ages 4 to 7; Activ8ers, for kids ages 8 to 11; and Between 2 Teen, for kids ages 11 and older.

Sometimes choosing a camp is tough. Hallie likes camps focused on crafts and eating, but she also takes one camp every summer that her mother picks out.

One year, she picked the manners and etiquette camp, a choice Hallie wasn’t too keen on at first.

“The manners camp, although I didn’t want to do that as much, I tried it,” Hallie said. After the camp was over, Hallie was able to show her family how to properly set a table for dinner.

“It actually made me feel like I wanted to show this off,” she said.

For parents and kids interested in a longer-running day camp, there’s the Springer Theatre Academy, a young-actors training program at the Springer Opera House. The Academy offers two, three and four week programs for children age 5 to 18.

Johanna Cabatingan, the volunteer coordinator at the Springer Opera House, is a former student and now teaching assistant at the Academy. She began taking classes as a sixth-grader, after her mother signed her up, and participated nearly every summer until she graduated high school in 2004.

“I got hooked after the first year,” Cabatingan said.

Academy students usually take six classes: voice and movement, improv, musical theatre, BANG, “a creative expression class” and two-scene study classes.

Cabatingan said she liked the improv class as a student.

“A lot of the game play is similar to what’s on ‘Who’s Line is it Anyway?’ ” she said.

The camp isn’t just for aspiring actors -- the motto of the Academy is “Life skills through stage skills.” Cabatingan said the camp exposes children to different people and helps them gain social skills.

“They’re learning teamwork and creativity. They’re learning how to talk in front of a group,” Cabatingan said. “It’s such a welcoming atmosphere.”

Sara Pauff, 706-320-4469