<p>If your child is really interested in demolishing buildings… well, there are engineers who specialize in this area… </p>
<p>There is an Explosives Camp at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly University of Missouri at Rolla). You have to be going into 11th or 12th grade. I think you have to be 17 by the start of camp.</p>
<p>The students also learn about dynamite and fireworks. It is educational. Seriously. I read a newspaper article about it.</p>
<p>My son would love this, but at 14, he is too young for it. Maybe I can steer him toward something safer by the time he is 17. (An English major sounds nice and safe, doesn’t it? Or how about a nice math major?)</p>
<p>That line from Christmas Story (You’ll shoot your eye out!) keeps coming to mind. </p>
<p>Anyway, I thought I would share this for older students looking for an interesting summer program or parents of older kids looking for summer programs. We parents all want to support our children’s passions…</p>
<p>I found the NY Times article. Here are a few quotes:</p>
<p>“In the course of a week, the 22 students at this session set off a wall of fire, blasted water out of a pond, blew up a tree stump and obliterated a watermelon. They set off explosive charges in the schools mine and finished off the week by creating their own fireworks show for their parents.”</p>
<p>“Dr. Worsey said that he saw his role in part as helping these students avoid the troubles that a fascination with explosives can bring. Many people who have been drawn to the camp, he said, have already made things like potato guns and flamethrowers. They could be one fumble away from injury or serious trouble with the law. And the camp, Dr. Worsey said, can give a nudge in the right direction.”</p>