One of the creations from a “Kids Make Sculpture” workshop last summer. Courtesy of Franconia Sculpture Park

The school year is winding down, and my inbox is already packed with press releases for the many arts festivals and community cultural programs with which we fill our warmer months around here. Most families have their summer child care and day camp arrangements cobbled together by now—although, if you’re still looking, I compiled a round-up of arts-focused camps last year you may find useful.

Today, I have a little something extra for you, something you might otherwise overlook in the happy fracas of options competing for your family’s summertime afternoons. About an hour’s drive from the city you’ll find Franconia Sculpture Park (one of the best daytrip destinations on offer, about which I’ve sung praises here before). The organization runs a program for youth (aged 4 to 18) a few weekend afternoons each summer, “Kids Make Sculpture” workshops. The title says it all: Kids are put in small groups of two or three to work one-on-one with the park’s staff and resident artists to design and fabricate sculptures. It might just be the most fantastic kids’ summer art program of them all; at just $30 per workshop, it’s certainly in the running for most affordable.

The park’s fellowship artists, staff and interns work with kids in small groups of two or three. Courtesy of Franconia Sculpture Park

The kids work in sturdy materials with machinery that’s big and impressive, and the artists guiding them are game to try to make just about anything the children can dream up. (When I mentioned on Facebook that I’d signed up my second grader for a few of these Saturday workshops, sculptor Aaron Dysart said last time he was a teaching artist for the program, his group of kids made an eight-foot-tall unicorn.)

As my friend, artist Ann Klefstad, says, the park is just “how childhood should be. Even for old people!” Photo courtesy of Franconia Sculpture Park

The kids spend all afternoon outside, in the open prairie environs of the park, surrounded by whimsical, monumental artwork; what’s more, with all that to inspire them, they’re then provided the tools, materials and technical help from real-deal artists to realize “virtually any construction.” After the work is made, the kids collect their pieces for an exhibit on the grounds to show friends and family, and to take some photos to document their creations.

Let me tell you: If you have a child who immediately dismisses the in-package instructions that come with their LEGO sets in favor of (as my son said just this morning) “following my own directions” – this is the arts camp experience you’ve been looking for.

Artists with their work. Photo courtesy of Franconia Sculpture Park

There are just four “Kids Make Sculpture” workshops on offer this summer, one Saturday each month from 1-4 p.m.: May 24, June 21, July 19 and August 23 at Franconia Sculpture Park, 29836 St. Croix Trail, Franconia, Minn. There is a fee of $30 per workshop; call 651-257-6668 or email [email protected] to sign up. If you’re interested, register early because space is limited.