DOWN ON THE FARM: KIDS' COLLEGE 2026

Kids' College is a summer enrichment program designed to spark the imagination and expand the knowledge of youth entering grades 1 through 6. Join us this summer for an adventure of "Down on the Farm" at UACCB in Batesville, AR. 

Note: For the best registration experience, we recommend using a desktop or laptop computer. If using a mobile phone, make sure you have a strong signal or Wi-Fi connection to avoid issues with pages loading or class options displaying. Also, be sure to register your child, not yourself.

Kids’ College will be held July 13-17 for kids entering Grades 4-6 in Fall 2026. 

Program Details:

• Cost: $129 | Fee includes choice of two classes
• Class Dates: July 13-17, 2026
• Class Hours: 8 AM – 12 Noon
• Class Duration: 5 Half-Days | Monday thru Friday
• Snacks: Light snacks and a water bottle will be provided.
• Deadline to register to guarantee your T-shirt size: Friday, May 29, 2026.

Class Schedule:

Choose your favorite two classes from the list of offerings below! Classes are divided into First Period (8:00 AM) and Second Period (10:15 AM). Spots are first-come, first-served, so don’t wait!

• Some classes are offered twice, giving you more flexibility to fit them into your schedule.
• Some classes are offered only once, so choose carefully.
• Final class offerings and availability are at the sole discretion of UACCB.
• A limited number of partial scholarships are available for Kids’ College. Scholarships will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so we encourage early application. To request a scholarship, call 870-612-2082 or email communityed@uaccb.edu.

Don’t miss your chance to create an exciting and fun schedule this year!

First Period Class | 8 AM-9:45 AM | Choose one!

• LEGO Robotics Farm Bot Challenge
• Homestead Cooking & Farm Crafts
• The Health Hangout
• 3, 2, 1 Blast Off!
• Barnyard Creations
• Down on the Farm with Coding & Cubelets

Second Period Class | 10:15 AM-12 NOON | Choose one!

• LEGO Robotics Farm Bot Challenge
• Homestead Cooking & Farm Crafts
• The Scrub Club
• 3, 2, 1 Blast Off!
• Farm-tastic Discoveries
• LEGO Farming

Detailed Course Descriptions:

LEGO Robotics Farm Bot Challenge | 8 AM-9:45 AM and 10:15 AM-12 Noon
Note: This session is offered both periods.
Instructor: Scott Phillips
Build, code, and compete in this exciting LEGO robotics adventure! Students will work in teams to design farm bots that haul cargo, pull heavy loads, race through obstacle courses, and even compete in a demolition derby in the Battle Corral. Along the way, they’ll learn basic coding, problem-solving, and teamwork while turning LEGO bricks into hardworking robots. Get ready to build, test, and have a blast! This class is limited to 15 students.

Homestead Cooking & Farm Crafts | 8 AM-9:45 AM and 10:15 AM-12 Noon
Note: This session is offered both periods. 
Instructors: Melissa Foster and Sara Dew
Get ready for a week full of fun, learning, and hands-on projects! The first three days of Homestead Cooking will teach students kitchen and food safety as they bake cookies from scratch, measuring, mixing, and creating a batch to take home. The last two days of class turn into Farm Crafts, where students become agricultural innovators. They’ll design a farm blueprint, build a mini greenhouse, test farm technology, investigate soil erosion, and even create a farm business and marketing plan. This exciting class blends science, engineering, and creativity, giving students a chance to solve real-world farm challenges. By the end, they’ll have tasty treats, cool experiments, and big ideas for the farm of the future! This class is limited to 10 students. 

The Health Hangout | 8 AM-9:45 AM
Instructors: UACCB Nursing Faculty
Get ready to move, play, and learn how to stay healthy! In Health Hangout, students will discover fun ways to keep their bodies and minds strong through games, activities, and teamwork. They’ll learn about fitness, healthy foods, hydration, sleep, and other smart habits. By the end of the class, students will have simple tips they can use every day to feel energized and make healthy choices.  

3, 2, 1 Blast Off! | 8 AM-9:45 AM and 10:15 AM-12 Noon
Note: This session is offered both periods. 
Instructor: Cheri Stephens
Ready for liftoff? In this exciting hands-on class, students will learn the basics of rocketry while designing and building their very own rocket. They’ll explore different rocket styles, launch their creations, and collect data to see how high they soar. Then it’s back to the drawing board to improve their design for an even bigger blast-off! Get ready to learn, build, launch—and have a sky-high adventure! This class is limited to 24 students. 

Barnyard Creations | 8 AM-9:45 AM
Instructor: Melanie Brustrom
Let your imagination run free around the farm as you create farm animal themed arts and crafts. Students will enjoy a fun-filled week painting pigs on canvases, creating oil pastel rooster pictures, cow drawings, goat puppets, and stick horses. Join us for a "moo"-velous week!

Down on the Farm with Coding & Cubelets | 8 AM-9:45 AM
Instructor: Denise Hogan
Get ready to explore how farms use coding, robotics, and cool technology to grow our food! In this hands-on class, students will learn basic programming terms and practice their skills through fun online coding activities. Campers will use Cubelets to build and solve farm-themed challenges, like creating an autonomous farm vehicle and a food-processing robot. Along the way, they’ll discover how modern farmers use technology every day. It’s the perfect mix of agriculture, creativity, and high-tech fun!

The Scrub Club | 10:15 AM-12 Noon 
Instructors: UACCB Nursing Faculty
Welcome to Scrub Club, where students who are curious about the medical field will explore the exciting world of healthcare, learn how the body works and how doctors and nurses help people feel better. Through fun, hands-on activities, students will practice basic first aid, explore how X-rays work, and learn about medical tools. They’ll even get creative with activities like making a cast—just like real medical teams!

Farm-tastic Discoveries | 10:15 AM-12 Noon
Instructor: Melanie Brustrom
Join us for a week filled with Farm-tastic Science Discoveries. Students will plant bean seeds to take home, create a worm farm, engineer an irrigation system out of recycled materials, and make homemade butter. It's sure to be an "udderly" awesome week!

LEGO Farming | 10:15 AM-12 Noon
Instructor: Denise Hogan
Students will work collaboratively in small groups to design and build a LEGO farm. Through hands-on building, discussion, and reflection, students will explore how farms function, the types of farms that exist, and the structures, animals, machines, and food systems farms need to operate.

Cancellations: To cancel a class, five (5) business days' notice prior to the course starting date is required to withdraw and receive a refund. 

Ms. Beverly Meinzer, UACCB Science Faculty, will present an information session and discussion on how to order, store, use and dispose of chemicals in the middle school and high school science lab. Participants will be given information on these topics along with information about online resources. Several practical, easy to do experiments that can be done in the school science setting will be performed by the participants. The workshop is free and is designed for secondary science teachers. The event is sponsored by White River Regional Solid Waste Management District. 

The workshop will be held on Tuesday, July 14th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the UACCB Arts & Science Building, room 303 and 304. Seating is limited to 20. Lunch will be provided. For questions, call 870-612-2082. 

Where young makers turn ideas into real products.

Register today because this class is limited to only 5 students!

UACCB Maker Camp is a hands-on, youth-focused experience that blends making, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship. Students design, prototype, make, and market real products while learning how ideas become tangible, sellable goods.

Enrollment is open for children who are entering grades 5th through 8th Grade in the Fall of 2026.

For this year’s camp, and because Batesville is the Christmas Capital of Arkansas, participants will create laser-cut wooden Christmas ornaments!

Participants explore the full product-development process—from brainstorming ornament ideas and digital design to laser cutting, material testing, and branding. Campers work primarily with locally grown and milled wood, including eastern red cedar and red oak, learning how material properties such as thickness, strength, and durability influence design and manufacturing decisions.

Through guided, age-appropriate activities, students use precision tools like calipers, conduct simple material science experiments, and operate an industrial-grade BOSS LS3655 laser engraver/cutter in a supervised environment.

On the final day of camp, students tour a local manufacturing facility and celebrate their accomplishments with a Christmas in July party.

Beyond technical skills, UACCB Maker Camp emphasizes entrepreneurship and teamwork. Campers learn to calculate costs and collaborate to prepare products for sale, gaining insight into how creative ideas turn into sustainable ventures. Proceeds from product sales help fund scholarships for future UACCB youth programs, connecting student creativity to real community impact.

Designed for curious and creative students, UACCB Maker Camp combines engineering, design thinking, and business fundamentals into an engaging, project-based experience rooted in hands-on learning.

UACCB Maker Camp Details

• Monday, July 27 through Friday, July 31
• 8:00 a.m. to noon each day
• 5th through 8th Graders entering Fall 2026
• UACCB Workforce Training Center (campus map)
• $89 per student
• Includes t-shirt and snacks
• Tour of local manufacturing facility
• Students will take home an ornament they made
• Christmas in July party on the last day of camp

Cancellations: To cancel a class, five (5) business days' notice prior to the course starting date is required to withdraw and receive a refund. 

This wildland firefighting course is provided by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Forestry Division. This class introduces how fire departments and Forestry Division personnel will work together to stop a fire. Wildland firefighting and structural firefighting are very different situations, yet we share many of the same thought processes when we deal with fires. The instructor for this class is Regina Gregory. Course length: 8 hours. 

This class will not qualify you as a wildland firefighter, however, you will learn how the Forestry Division works on fire incidents. Through communication, cooperation, and coordination, our agencies will be able to provide a positive outcome to the incident, the fire is extinguished. We always do this with safety in mind.

In order to receive a certificate for this course, the student must: Attend the entire course, take an end-of-course test, and pass the test. The test will cover the course material. 

About the instructor:

Regina Gregory began her career in forestry in May 2005 as a Fire Plow Operator, where she played a crucial role in combating wildland fires. After a decade of dedicated service, Ms. Gregory was promoted to County Ranger in October 2015, assuming a broader range of responsibilities within the forestry department. In July 2021, she took on a new challenge as a Wildland Training Instructor, sharing her knowledge and expertise to train the next generation of forestry professionals.

For more information, call 870-612-2082 or email katrina.stevens@uaccb.edu

Register now >>

Join us for this free, in-person Hunter Education class sponsored by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC). The course takes place on Saturday, October 3, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Arkansas law requires anyone born after 1968 to complete an approved hunter education course before purchasing a hunting license. Youth under 16 may hunt without certification if supervised by an adult (age 21 or older), but completing this course is strongly encouraged.

There is no minimum age to enroll, but the course material is written at a sixth-grade reading level.

Upon successful completion, students will receive their official Arkansas Hunter Education card.

If you have questions, please call 870-612-2082. Registration online via the AGFC website is required.

Electrical Code Update covers the most significant changes to the 2026 National Electric Code (NEC). Instructor is Lucas Stewart from the Arkansas Construction Education Foundation (ACEF). If purchased, bring to class your NEC 2026 code book for reference. The course fee is $100 and includes all course materials. 

Registration Process:

Step 1: In order to complete UACCB's required reporting for the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, please register using the UACCB link provided.

Step 2: In addition, you will need to register separately with the Arkansas Construction Education Foundation (ACEF) and submit the $100 class fee directly to ACEF to finalize your enrollment. To register and pay for the class, call Shannon Frieri (ACEF) at 501-372-1590. 

Register now >>

A to Z Grant Writing will take you through the planning process for documenting the need for funding in a Theory of Change Grant Project Planning Worksheet. Beginning with writing about what will be implemented (your vision for change and impact) when the project is funded, the worksheet begins to come to life. Exploring why funding is needed is the beginning of articulating the statement of need. You will learn how to document your projection of how, when funded, your project will initiate change. Once you've created the project's goals, the worksheet asks for inputs or resources (mirroring a logic model's format). Your thought processes and imagination will be tested in the implementation activities & timeline section. You'll also have a chance to develop outputs and outcomes for the planned project. Finally, you'll learn how to develop a project budget. Where does all of this lead? Every lesson is one step closer to having 100% of the information you'll need to write a highly competitive grant proposal. Additional features include six teachable moments videos and six choose your own adventure branching scenarios to fuel your creative thinking processes.

Learn more about this online course >>

Register now >>

Are you ready to continue your journey into the world of grants? You will learn how to create a fundraising plan for all types of grantmakers. In addition, you will explore websites for finding and reviewing corporate, foundation, and government grant funding opportunities and grant application guidelines.

You will go through every aspect of strategic funding research, preparing a fundraising plan, writing an award-winning plan of operation, and creating a project budget without red flags. Then you will journey into the world of grants available for your projects. The excitement will build when you discover just how many funding opportunities are available.

You will see grants for arts and humanities, education, medical, science and agriculture, human services, and corporate foundation grants. You will also explore new grant-writing trends and what to do when you're notified of a grant award or a grant rejection. Don't worry, there's a plan to implement for future grant seeking success if you don't get your project funded.

By the end of the course, you will be prepared to continue tracking future grant-writing and funding trends, bounce back successfully from rejection notices, and manage all of your grant awards proficiently. In addition, you will gain confidence in all areas of grant seeking, grant writing, and grants management (post-award reporting requirements).

Learn more about this online course >>