The Division of Outreach and Engagement at USI oversees many programs and workshops for members of the community.

“Our department helps find programs to do around the community,” said manager of school partnerships Jaclyn Dumond.

USI offers a variety of children and student programming throughout the year, including the Saturday Art Workshop each fall and spring, Super Summer enrichment weeks during the summer and summer day camps are some of the programs USI offers, Dumond said.

One of these programs is an art workshop for children in the Tri-State area. The latest workshop, takes place Saturday and is taught by art professor Joseph Uduehi.

Uduehi has been teaching this workshop for more than 10 years and said he plans to keep doing it as long as he can. During the workshop, he will instruct the participants on basic art techniques and help them create their own small piece of pottery.

“This workshop promotes the university around the community and enhances the kids’ creative ideas in addition to what they learn during their normal art classes,” Uduehi said.

Uduehi said the workshop is a very good opportunity for children who may not otherwise get a chance to experience a college campus. It can help the children see what a college campus is like, with the hope that they may pursue a college degree when they get older, Uduehi said.

“Bringing children of all ages to campus is extremely important. It conveys the message that college is accessible to all Hoosiers, and that USI is a welcoming place,” Dumond said.

Uduehi said the workshop is also a good oppurunity for art education majors to get hands-on experience with children. The program also helps prepare them for student teaching they’ll do later.

This workshop is open to children ages six to 14, and participants may be from anywhere within the Tri-State area. Parents can register their children for the workshop for $30.

Registration information for all of these programs can be found at this website, http://www.usi.edu/outreach/cesp/programs.

“The numbers are a little down this year,” Uduehi said. “Normally there are between 70 and 80 kids that sign up but this year we have around 40 to 50 signed up right now.”