The Metropolitan Opera Is Offering a Ridiculously Cool Virtual Summer Camp — and It's Free (Video)

One of the greatest treasures of childhood is getting to attend summer camp. It’s a time when you’re free from school, from parents, and free to just have fun with your friends. This year, the coronavirus pandemic may have stolen the in-person camp experience but the Metropolitan Opera is here to ensure creative kids everywhere still get the camp experience online.

On June 15, the Metropolitan Opera will launch its Met Opera Global Summer Camp, an educational initiative to “engage and support students worldwide.”

According to a statement provided by the Metropolitan Opera, the eight-week online summer camp will run from June 15 to August 7 and will include a featured opera each week from the Met’s own digital library of performances. And best of all, it will be completely free for children and teens to attend.

The Met Opera Global Summer Camp will take place five days a week and will have two sets of programming for two different age groups: 3rd – 6th grades and 7th – 12th grades.

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Throughout the sessions teachers will lead students in hands-on activity they can participate in at home including puppet-making and songwriting via Zoom sessions and Google Learning. Each of the lessons will coincide with that week’s featured opera and will work to help the students better understand the performance and its message.

“At a time when students’ usual summer activities are being significantly curtailed, we’re happy to be providing them with some operatic fun and education,” Met General Manager Peter Gelb shared in a statement. “The response to our Free Student Streams over the past few months has been tremendous. Opera summer camp is a natural extension.”

The featured operas include Humperdinck’s "Hansel and Gretel," Donizetti’s "Don Pasquale," Dvo?ák’s "Rusalka," Gounod’s "Roméo et Juliette," Mozart’s "The Magic Flute," Lehár’s "The Merry Widow," Donizetti’s "La Fille du Régiment," and Mozart’s "Così fan tutte."

Don’t worry, you still get a merit badge for attending online camp. As the statement explained, students will receive a digital badge for each completed week of programming For more information check out the camp’s website here.