Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — At some summer camps, children and teens learn how to build s'mores.

At the Summer Construction Institute put on by The Indust--rial Company, or TIC, teens learn how to build careers in the construction industry.

The six-day camp, June 11 to 16 on the Colorado Mountain College campus in Steamboat Springs, is open to students entering their junior or senior years of high school. The $25 camp cost includes meals and lodging.

To attend the camp, students must go to an orientation from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 4 at the TIC Training Center on Elk River Road in Steamboat. Parents are asked to attend the first hour of the orientation.

Institute coordinator Rick Bettger said lunch will be provided for students, who will need to pass a test based on curriculum from the National Center for Construction Education and Research.

"Kids who don't pass the first time will be able to re-test," Bettger said.

During the camp, students will be introduced to a variety of trades, including electricity, carpentry/concrete and welding/pipefitting. They also will interview with local contractors and could find summer jobs in the construction industry.

Students at the camp will need to wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts and hard-toed shoes or boots. Bettger said vouchers from Wal-Mart will be available for students who do not have hard-toed footwear, and scholarships can be arranged to cover the camp cost.

"We'll find a way so kids aren't excluded," Bettger said.

This is the camp's first year.

"This a new thing we're trying out," TIC's Rob MacCarthy said. "We're trying to develop a partnership with local high schools."

Students from high schools in Steamboat Springs, Hayden, Oak Creek, Kremmling, Craig, Meeker, Granby, Walden and Rifle are invited to attend the camp.

-- To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4203

or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com