The National Center for Families Learning and Better World Books Kick Off Summer with Camp Wonderopolis™

LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Do you know why gum loses its flavor? Or where lightning bugs go during the day? Do you know why we can't feel the Earth spin? Find out! The answers can all be found at Camp Wonderopolis™—a virtual summer camp that caters to all ages, starts online and inspires big-time learning, fits into any schedule… and best of all, is free.

As school comes to an end, parents are gearing up for that timeless summer chant—"What should I do? I'm bored!"  This year, fire the questions right back—What is the hottest planet? How does soap get things clean? Do boomerangs always come back?  Camp Wonderopolis has the questions, the answers and the D.I.Y. projects, quizzes and games to learn more.

Follow your Camp Wonderopolis avatar along different paths to track your progress, win Wonder Cards® and share with other campers. Families will customize their experience along six different tracks of science, building vocabulary and literacy skills along the way.

Camp Wonderopolis is presented by the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) with support from Better World Books, and is the official summer program of the popular learning destination Wonderopolis.org.

"Wonderopolis.org inspires curiosity and discovery all year round, but summer especially embodies the spirit of exploration," said Emily Kirkpatrick, vice president of NCFL. "As the days get longer and families have more time on their hands, Camp Wonderopolis energizes learners and fights off the 'summer slump,' that can leech away as much as four months of instruction in students."

"Part of our mission as a socially responsible organization is to encourage learning around the globe, and in our partnership with NCFL we can be creative working towards that goal," said John Ujda, chief literacy officer of Better World Books. "Camp Wonderopolis is a fun digital way to round out the summer reading list."

Bolstered by an enthusiastic online community and partnerships with libraries and summer programs throughout the country, including the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, Camp Wonderopolis is expected to  reach more than 150,000 students this summer. In celebration, an army of elementary school kids descended upon 44^th and Broadway outside the Good Morning America studios to ask the audience Camp Wonderopolis questions, and popped by GMA Live to tell the anchors more.

About the National Center for Families Learning
The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping adults and children learn together. NCFL creates and deploys innovative programs and strategies that support learning, literacy and family engagement in education. From the classroom to the community to the digital frontier, NCFL collaborates with educators, advocates and policy-makers to help families construct hotspots for learning wherever they go. For more information on NCFL's 24-year track record, visit www.familieslearning.org.

About Better World Books
Better World Books (www.BetterWorldBooks.com) is a for-profit social enterprise that collects and sells books online matching each purchase with a donation, book for book, and with each sale generating funds for literacy initiatives in the U.S. and around the world. With more than eight million new and used titles in stock, Better World Books is a self-sustaining company that balances the social, economic and environmental values of its stakeholders. Better World Books diverts books from landfills by conducting book drives on thousands of college campuses and libraries. Since its founding in 2003, the Mishawaka, Ind.-based company has raised over $17 million for libraries and literacy, donated over 12 million books; re-used or recycled over 134 million books and achieved 44,000 tons of carbon offsets through carbon balanced shipping.

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SOURCE National Center for Families Learning