Central Michigan University alumni and their grandchildren will be taking over campus for the next few days.

The second annual Grandparents U, a three-day summer camp, will bring more than 100 people to share and experience college life.

“It’s an opportunity for grandparents and children ages eight to 12 to come to campus and get the full experience,” said Anne Galgoczi, assistant director of alumni relations. “They are staying in the residence halls, eating in the dining halls, taking advantage of what campus has to offer. Also, the grandparents and grandchildren get to spend time together.”

The camp lets grandparents and grandchildren experience many highlights of CMU’s campus, including the rock wall, swimming and other activities at the SAC and 24 hands-on educational sessions put on by faculty members.

“We have representation from all the colleges on campus,” Galgoczi said. “The classes range from ‘The Joy of Chemistry to Rocket Science’ to ‘Theater: Behind the Scenes.’ It will be like attending a college course, but appropriate for kids ages eight to 12.”

This is the second year for the summer camp, and many faculty are coming back to participate.

Sue Gamble, an associate professor in the School of Music, is teaching “Therapeutic Use of Animals” with a group from the Mount Pleasant Kennel Club. In addition to her teaching duties, Gamble is the secretary of the Mount Pleasant Kennel Club.

“We show how we use dogs in a variety of ways with people in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living homes. How the dogs are trained and how they help with therapy,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to learn things you can do with dogs other than as just pets. The kids seemed to really like it last year. It’s a worthwhile endeavor.”

That endeavor is what one particular grandparent is looking forward to.

Director of Media Relations Steve Smith is bringing his 10-year-old grandson, Zach, and is excited to spend more time with him.

“We don’t get to see each other enough, so I’m really excited about this opportunity,” Smith said. “I also hope he will want to attend college, and this is a great chance to expose him to the university experience.”

Smith is hoping the three days open his grandson’s eyes to the idea of attending college.

“My brother and I were first-generation college students and our kids never did well in the higher education,” Smith said. “I see this as an opportunity to give Zach a chance to see how fun and rewarding college life can be in hopes that he makes attending a university one of his goals.”

The event, which saw 50 participants last year, is continuing to grow.

“We’re really excited. Numbers have doubled for the second year. Definitely going to make this an annual event and hope it continues to grow and grow,” said Galgoczi. “It provides alumni an opportunity to come back to campus and gets children to CMU, as an alumni event as well as a recruitment tool.”

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E-mail the author: Todd Betzold