Child 1 Age 9 - 12 (Male)
Program(s) focused in Visual Arts (multi), Arts & Crafts, Comic Art
(4.5) Overall experience
NPCC camps are all art-focused and cover a wide range of subjects such as drawing, animation, painting and traditional art, sculpture, mixed media, etc. The classes usually have a theme, and instructors are professional artists with art students as the camp mentors. The camps are excellent for content and really fun, in a well-set-up arts centre, in a park area, so there was plenty of chance to get outside at lunch breaks. The groups are small and friendly, and my son attended several weeks of camp every summer and learned a lot of new skills, as well as having fun.
(5) Reason for choosing the camp
It can be hard to find camps for the age group above 10, and NPCC run camps up to 13 years old, which is a great bonus. The camps are also taught by artists who are really teaching skills from their own expertise, so they are always a great earning experience. I am a member of NPCC, and enjoyed that camps were part of our art community in a friendly and safe environment.
(5) Program quality and activities
My son did a lot of different camps at NPCC over the years, but they were always taught by professional artists, with plenty of camp mentors and assistants, so very good ratio of instructors to campers. The camps differed all the time, and new subjects and instructors are always being offered. Particular favourites from a few years ago were stop motion animation and Artist for the Week. All camps end with an art show for family and friends to attend on a Friday afternoon, so it's fun to see what the whole NPCC centre has been working on for the week of camp, and to get to know the instructors and other parents.
(4.5) Social dynamics and experience
Some of the same kids were attending year-to-year, so it was easy to make friends in a very relaxed environment. [There were] no issues with bullying at all in our experience. A very small issue is that sometimes kids have to stay in at lunchtime, as there are coyotes in the park area that have become quite aggressive, but the NPCC staff are very attentive to this issue.
(5) Skills and growth
All the activities were run by artists so the skills learned were excellent and taught in a small group creative way so kids explore their own ideas. There is no "you're doing it wrong" sort of attitude in the teaching. My son's favourite skill learned was probably stop motion animation, but he learned a lot of things; colour theory, painting techniques, drawing and animation, storyboarding, clay sculpting, and printing.
The ratio of instructors to students is good, and they always had loads of arts and crafts items to bring home at the end of the week.
(4.5) Staff/Instructors/Counsellors
The Neilson Park Creative Centre is a small friendly place with a small group of staff who it easy to get to know. They have always been responsive, by email, phone, or in person. I didn't have any issues or conflicts with my son's camps over the years of being there. Communication [about] camps was by email, and the communication seemed good compared to other camps, with clear guidelines and food / behavior policies etc. There are before and after camp sessions for parents with longer work hours, which we always used, and they got to play games in the main art gallery, which my son enjoyed. There can be some adult studio classes running at the same time as camps, and many of the members are retired, and all seemed to love having the kids camps there.
(4.5) Advice and tips
The NPCC camps seem to fill up quite quickly, so register early if you want to get a spot. Some summers we weren't able to get our first choice of camps, despite starting registration around March break.
The NPCC centre is in a park/ravine area with plenty of parking, so drop-off and pick-up is easy. It is all on one level too so access is good.
Clark and William are very active brothers, 20 months apart. We couldn't be happier with our experience at Neilson Park Creative Centre! My grandsons have been attending their art programs, and it's ...
