Promising summer programs for students

As school ends, the prospect of unwinding from homework and exam schedules beckons enticingly. Rewinding can be more refreshing than unwinding, and it's definitely a good summer option. Here are some promising summer programs for high school and college students offering adventure, discovery, and accomplishment.

Volunteer! Every community needs volunteers to help elderly and handicapped people maintain their independence and joy, to care for children of working parents, to organize recreational activities for teen-agers, etc.

Find out who needs your help and then help. (One bonus of responsible service is that you will have experience to list when you apply for a paying job in the future.) Incidentally, your own home may offer overlooked volunteer opportunities.

Travel! Summer abroad programs are organized by colleges, universities, and groups like the Experiment in International Living, Kipling Road, Brattleboro, Vt. 05301 (with regional offices in some large cities); American Institute for Foreign Study, 102 Greenwich, Greenwich, Conn. (plus regional offices in the United States and Europe); Council on International Educational Exchange, 205 East 42nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10017 (including work camp opportunities in Poland); and similar organizations.

Even when announced application deadlines dates have passed, there is always the possibility of substituting for a last-minute dropout. A valid passport, ready cash, and the ability to communicate your personal assets to such a program might win you the desired space.

Dig! Right under your feet may lie in encrusted or broken objects the only record that exists of long-ago peoples.

Join others in your area whose quest for artifacts and knowledge is unshrouding the mysteries of the past. Local newspapers report excavations in progress; most states have appointed an archaeologist who can direct amateurs to likely sites for further exploration and to expeditions where your contribution of labor is needed and where you can learn the field skills, and sometimes the intellectual detective work, of archaeology.

You may wish to investigate the archaeology programs for beginners of all ages sponsored at Western and Midwestern sites by the Center for American Archaeology at Northwestern University, 1911 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, Ill. 60201 , as well as the University Research Expeditions Program, University of California, Berkeley, Calif. 94720.

Discover! Learn something useful or fun that you can't fit into your school program during the regular academic year. Summer courses are offered at colleges, universities, high schools, and community centers.

This is the time to try out gourmet cooking (sometimes advertised or publicized in local papers and offered privately, in addition to courses as indicated above), painting, photography, astronomy, or whatever else appeals to you.

And if you're exploring career possibilities, consider Career Discovery Program, Harvard Graduate School of Design, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, Mass. 02138; Iris M. Fanger, director, Harvard Summer Dance Center, 20 Garden Street, Cambridge, Mass. 02138; Oregon Summer Science Experience, Gordon Murphy, director, Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Ore. 97403; Christine Anderson, Summer Youth Program, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich. 49931; Senior Scholars Program at Centre College of Kentucky, Danville, Ky. 40422 (computers, math, energy, science, international relations, literature, writing for high school seniors).

Arctic botany in Alaska is offered by the School for Field Studies, 50 Western Avenue, Cambridge, Mass. 02139 (some scholarship funds available). Shoals Marine Laboratory, Cornell University, G-14 Stimson Hall, Ithaca, N.Y., offers noncredit courses in marine mammals, bird watching, nature photography, and marine science. Audubon Society nature programs can be investigated locally. Earthwatch, 10 Juniper Road, Box 127, Belmont, Mass. 02178, sponsors 70 projects in 30 countries and 20 states, many of which are expeditions that emphasize animal behavior or the study of ecosystems.

Practice a favorite sport regularly! Tennis, swimming, sailing, golf, handball, racquetball, rapelling, running - all increase the participant's pleasure and opportunities as his skill increases.

Camp! This year you can specialize in computer use, aviation, art, career exploration, language, and other interests, in addition to the more usual sports and nature programs camps offer.

Write International Language Villages, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn. 56560 for information about 40 camp sessions in eight languages which simulate living abroad. Interlocken, Box 100, Hillsboro, N.H. 03244, has a US-China youth camp, teen-age job training, and other programs. Your local library has camp guides listing a great variety of opportunities. Newspaper ads also provide information about special camp offerings.

Atari Computer Camps, 40 East 34th Street, New York, N.Y. 10016, can supply information about locations and activities of its programs.

Read! Your local library or bookstore has shelves and shelves and shelves of good books waiting for you. Books are very portable: They go to the beach, the hammock, on airplanes, and to all the beautiful and lazy places associated with summer

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