CKCU’s on-air studio. Photo provided.
After a pandemic hiatus, CKCU Summer Radio Camp is returning for kids aged 10 to 14—the next generation of radio producers.
Radio Camp is a week-long camp running in July. At the end of every week, the campers host a live radio show where they air their original drama and program music and ads—just like any other radio producer.
“It’s a great way to put kids together and introduce them to a legacy form of communication,” says Lindsay Morrison, CKCU’s volunteer and community manager. “It’s a form for communication in places like Canada’s North, or for sharing news or music and culture. It’s a different perspective than consuming a podcast on your headphones.” For campers, radio becomes a tangible medium, with control boards, screens, and mics.
“It’s a great way to connect with younger generations and have them be involved in something they might otherwise never see,” says Morrison. Kids get to learn a medium that their parents and grandparents grew up with, but which they might not have a lot of experience with.
L to R: Lynn Hanson and Chris White during a live broadcast of Canadian Spaces.
Radio Camp has been running for over 10 years, meaning there are plenty of alumni—some who come back to CKCU as Carleton students.
Morrison says most years they’ll get a Carleton student volunteering at the station who had attended radio camp when they were a kid. For Morrison, that just speaks to the importance of giving kids a chance to try out something new to them, like radio broadcasting.
For CKCU, it’s all about working with the community. Their programming is about 50 percent Carleton students and 50 percent community members. CKCU is a part of the community. As Morrison says, “the commercial radio station is not going to air your alien invasion radio drama.”
Parents can sign their kids up for CKCU’s Summer Radio Camp here.
