For the fourth time in five years, Columbus State University's Activ8 Summer Camps were voted the best summer camp program in the 2017 Muscogee Moms Choice Awards.

Activ8 is listed as the “1st Choice” among local summer camps in the seventh annual Choice Awards sponsored by Muscogee Moms, a popular local guide for parents looking for family-friendly events and activities in Columbus, Phenix City, Fort Benning and Opelika. “2nd Choice” went to Brookstone Summer Campus. Camp Viking at St. Anne-Pacelli and Elite Dance Academy also were nominated.

"We are so proud to be voted Columbus' number one summer camp,” said Susan Wirt, executive director of CSU’s Center for Continuing Education, which runs the Activ8 camps. “Activ8 is our way of encouraging younger community members to be lifelong learners. It’s all hands-on engagement and so much fun that campers don’t even know they are learning. Of course, our plan all along is to bring them to campus, get them excited about CSU, and plant the seed that 'going to college' is a great thing to do.”

Activ8 Summer Camps, for children ages 4-18, offer a variety of programs that encourage kids to have fun while learning about technology, mathematics, art, sports, dance, sewing and more. Programs are taught on campus and at CSU’s outreach centers, including the Coca-Cola Space Science Center and Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center, and with the Columbus Regional Math Collaborative and the Schwob School of Music. Baseball, basketball, cheerleading, dance, golf, soccer, softball and tennis camps are offered in partnership with CSU Athletics.

Camps begin May 30 and run through August 4, usually from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Before Care (7-9 a.m.) and After Care (4-6 p.m.) are offered on CSU's main campus to accommodate the schedules of working parents.