A few years ago when I was serving on the University of Illinois College of ACES Alumni Board, we had this idea: Invite alums and friends of the college to bring their young friends back to campus for an overnight college experience. They could take classes and stay in a dorm, check out favorite spots on campus, and have an all-around great time.

We ultimately launched that idea, and this year marks its fifth anniversary. I think it’s safe to say the ACES Family Academies has become a roaring success. We’ve seen grandparents and grandchildren, aunts and uncles with nieces and nephews, and parents and kids — and some come back year after year.

My friend Tina Veal is director of alumni relations for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. She’ll tell you the idea originated at Michigan State University, which is true — but we’ve made it our own in Illinois.

This year’s event will be held July 11-12, and is open to youth ages 8 to 13 years. Everyone stays in a dorm overnight (which are really nice now, by the way), and they take two days’ worth of “courses” through the College of ACES, taught by a combination of professors and Extension professionals.

RIGHT HERE? Doug Schemmer and daughter Sidney do a spot-check on their drone during an ACES Family Academies course.

When my daughter and I attended, she got to participate in a “chopped” food challenge in Bevier Hall, we learned about paper airplane drones in the Stock Pavilion, and we got to mix our own pork sausage in the Meats Lab — and cook it. And yes, she’s been making peach pancakes ever since, thanks to that food challenge, and yes, that’s benefited our entire family.

This year, they’ve added a few more courses to the list. You can head to the South Farms to learn about beef cattle, and then come back to campus to make biscuits with food scientists — plus learn about a lot of other stuff, such as building with Legos with ag engineers, cellphone photography with ag communicators, and honeybees with environmental scientists.

At the end of the day, it’s a good way to spend some time as a family (or with a young friend who might as well be family), and maybe get some insight into what your young friend might be interested in down the road.

For more information, check out ACES Family Academies. Registration is open now and closes May 31.

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