AIKEN --- With school out and high gas prices curtailing summer vacations, parents who are looking for ways to keep their children entertained and out of trouble can turn to Aiken County Park and Recreation's 11th annual series of free summer day camps.

"We want these children to have a very positive, educational and safe experience," said Emory Langston, the county's assistant parks director. "We want it to be fun, of course, but positive in the sense that they feel they are doing something healthy for their bodies and mind."

The weeklong Coca-Cola Summer Camps are held at eight locations throughout the county every year, but this year park officials decided to freshen up the program with a few changes.

"Over the course of the past two to three summers, we saw a decline in participation at some of the locations that we were running the camp," Ms. Langston said.

The parks and recreation department reached out to other agencies to see if there was any interest in helping with the camps. The response was overwhelming.

The first weeklong camp was held at Aiken State Natural Area. Other new venues for camps this year will be at the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, the Aiken County Historical Museum, the Bishop Gravatt Center and the Aiken County Library in Aiken.

Officials also limited the number of participants at each camp.

"We wanted the best experience for the children, so we capped every camp at 30 children," Ms. Langston said.

This year's camps are all full. Ms. Langston said they have a number of children's names on waiting lists.

"We had a phone-in pre-registration on May 14," she said. "Three of our camps were filled to capacity by 10 a.m., and all of our camps were filled by May 28."

Because of the 30-participant limit, children who do not go to the Monday session for the camp they are signed up for will lose their spots, and a child on the waiting list will be called.

Reach Michelle Guffey at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or michelle.guffey@augustachronicle.com