Science camp scholarships offered

Financial assistance is being offered for children whose families can't afford to enroll them in a field science summer camp program at Port Aransas schools this summer.

Folks seeking financial assistance should go to the Port Aransas Independent School District's (PAISD) administrative offices on Station Street to apply. The Port Aransas Education Foundation has contributed money for the cause, said Janice Roberts, president of the foundation. Children who qualify for assistance could see their tuitions greatly re- duced, Roberts said.

The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute (MSI) is working with PAISD and the Port Aransas Park and Recreation Department to run the field science summer camp. The camp, which focuses on the Mustang Island marine environment, is open for registration.

Registration forms are available at the city's Parks and Recreation office, 739 W. Ave. A, or at the offices of H.G. Olsen Elementary School and Brundrett Middle School.

Forms and fees should be brought to the parks and recreation office.

The fee for grades three and four is $20. For grades five through eight, it is $40.

Students entering grades three and four in the fall will attend half-day camps from 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday.

Students entering grades five through eight in the fall will attend half-day camps from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The program for the first week session "Seaweed, Seagrasss & Saltmarshes, will include field trips to riparian (freshwater) habitats on the Mission River, the estuarine salt marsh on the Nueces River delta, local marshes and the Port Aransas jetties. Scientists from MSI, Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, the Fennessey Ranch, Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi and UTAustin will participate.

The camps are a joint effort of UTMSI, the Port Aransas Parks and Recreation Department, and the Port Aransas Independent School District.

For more information, contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 749-4158 or visit http://gk12.utmsi. utexas.edu.