In one Knox College classroom, youngsters examine the loops, whorls, and arches that make each fingerprint unique. Elsewhere, children wearing homemade togas discuss the basic housing options available to ancient Romans. In a ceramics lab, students close their eyes and pinch balls of clay into small pots.

Those are all scenes from Knox College's 2015 College for Kids, an annual academic enrichment program for students from Galesburg and the surrounding communities who have completed grades K-8.

About 300 children participated in this year's program, which took place June 15-26 and offered classes in more than 40 different subjects, such as ceramics, moviemaking, theatre, singing, astronomy, magic, natural disasters, and urban agriculture.

Class instructors included Knox College faculty, Galesburg-area school teachers, other members of the community, and current Knox College students and recent graduates. Twenty Knox students, many of them preparing for teaching careers, assisted College for Kids instructors through Knox's REACH program -- Recruiting and Enlightening through Access to and Communication with High-need schools.

Among the instructors was Bridget Doherty ‘15, who taught three sessions of ceramics each day. A double major in studio art and education, Doherty said it "just made sense" for her to be involved with College for Kids.

"I love working with clay, and I love little kids," she explained. "This gives me more experience and will help me in the future."

Knox College Associate Professor of Physics Mark Shroyer taught three College for Kids classes: Astronomy, Physics of Weather, and Myth Busters. In Myth Busters, students tested the truthfulness of some popular beliefs, such as whether whirlpools turn in one direction in the Northern Hemisphere and the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere. Students collected data by examining the way water drained in sinks.

"Basically, what I'm trying to show them is experimental design -- how do you test something?" Shroyer said. "That's setting the stage to try to think like a scientist."

In a class taught by Brian Tibbets '96, Es Romanus, all of the students created a character -- adopting a Roman name, clothing, and occupation -- to help them learn about daily life in ancient Rome.

"It's important for students not to just study the broad scope of history and culture, but to put a name to a person and really try to explore, on a very basic level, what opportunities and challenges this person would have had," said Tibbets ‘96, a high school Latin teacher. "I think the role-playing aspect of the project brings out a lot of creativity in the students and lets their own personality mesh with their Roman character."

College for Kids students said they enjoyed the program, and they liked becoming more familiar with the Knox campus.

"It's just fun," said nine-year-old Breasia Young, who took College for Kids classes in ceramics, theatrical performance, and singing.

Her mother, Summer Pulse, described College for Kids as a positive experience for her daughter.

"She learns, she meets new people, and the (Knox) students are really good with the kids," Pulse said. "We love it."