What is Summer Camp like at Zaniac?
Enter our STEAM Lab Camps for Kids ... where our goal is to make a difference in your child's life.
Lynne Porter resides in South Asheville with her family, is President of the Rotary Club of South Asheville, and is Zaniac Campus Director and Co-owner. Lynne takes a personal interest in each and every child and parent who comes through the doors at Zaniac, a STEAM-enrichment center for K-8 grade kids located in Biltmore Park Town Square.
You can see Lynne’s care and love for kids as soon as you
meet her. Mom of two boys, Lynne’s son Oliver is a sophomore at Queens
University of Charlotte and Adam is a junior at TC Roberson High School. From
England, Lynne is bilingual in both English and Spanish and is a former
teacher. Prior to moving to Asheville with her family, she ran her own English
Academy and Translation Services in Barcelona.
Lynne’s authentic love for children translates to the
instructors who she hires at Zaniac—thoroughly vetted role model high
school and college students who love to work with kids.
Zaniac is a place where kids can discover what makes
their eyes light up with joy—whether for an after-school program or a camp. “I
want to empower young children to strengthen their self-confidence through a
world of science and discovery,” Lynne says. “I want to show kids that they can
do things they didn’t think possible.”
Zaniac offers a broad selection of Science, Technology,
Engineering, Art & Math (STEAM) Summer Camps to fit every child’s interest.
Kids who come to Zaniac for the first time are a bit
tentative at first, or “full of nervous wonder.” Lynne gets down to kid height.
“We make them feel at home straight away,” she says. “We find out their names,
introduce them to the instructors, and take them on a tour so they know where
the bathroom is and where they can put their lunchbox and backpack. The 3D
printer is a big hit and gets kids excited as they watch it create cool
kid-designed things. Immediately they feel at ease.”
When it’s nice outside, instructors take kids outside for a
supervised lunch where they can run and play with balls and Frisbees in the
grassy area in Biltmore Park Town Square.
Lynne talks to every parent when they come in, and along
with instructors, provide parents with daily feedback on what their child has
done each day.
Zaniac Summer Camps are purposefully kept small—around
five kids per camp—and are grouped by age to provide an exceptional
personalized experience. Kids make new friends easily as they form a bond
learning new technology skills.
“We want to give support and empowerment to each child in a
nurturing environment. We get excited to see the robots and circuits kids are
building, what kids are coding in Scratch or Java, and designing in 3D. We love
that moment when a child is beaming with pride about what they’ve done and they
can’t wait to show us,” Lynne says.
“We don’t want kids to just come for a summer camp, we want
them to acquire new technology skills and have more confidence that explodes
out to projects they can do at home and at school.
“I’m not just saying this,” Lynne says. “All
that Zaniac offers children comes from my heart.”
Learn more about Zaniac here or
email asheville@zaniaclearning.com
