Meadow Brook Hall is hosting its annual Youth Writing Camps, where children with an interest in writing come to explore a historic and literary atmosphere.

Each camp lasts one week from Monday to Friday, beginning in the morning and ending in the afternoon each day. Participants, ranging from kindergarten to high school level, are divided into different age groups to be taught by different instructors.

Every day the children are shown around different parts of the estate and partake in writing workshops. Each group is led by a student museum guide and a writing instructor. On Fridays, the final day, they get to present their writing to their parents.

The camps are part of the Meadow Brook Writing Project, a partnership between Oakland University and local schools designed to encourage writing, both to students and teachers.

“It’s a neat program,” said Lisa Drummond, the program coordinator of the camps.

Drummond also expressed her amazement at the creativity of the children. She cited one instance where a girl had chosen to write a piece from the perspective of a subject in one of the mansion’s paintings.

“We have kids that come every year to camp,” Drummond said. She said that there are even international students who come to the camps.

Rebecca Rivard, an OU Special Lecturer of Writing and Rhetoric and the director of the writing camps, agreed. She said children have come from as far away as Europe and Africa to attend. She also estimated that over half of the children come back each year.

“It’s also probably a well-kept secret among writers,” she said.

All of the writing instructors have had their work published and are well-renowned, making them the best people for the job. And they are not hard to seek out: according to Rivard, “They find us.”

The popularity of the camps has been consistent over the years. Rivard said that about 360 children enroll each summer.

“We generally sell out the camps,” she said.

For Rivard, the goal of the camps is to stimulate creative minds and to instill a nostalgic connection to the mansion for the kids. And she is happy to be a part of that process.

“This has been a really amazing experience for me,” she said.

To find out more about the Meadow Brook Writing Project’s Youth Writing Camps, go to http://www.oakland.edu/youthwritingcamps.