Extracurricular Activities
While the academic component is the top priority at the Arava Institute, we recognize that students come to our program with diverse agendas and interests. Students are encouraged to take part in the numerous extra-curricular activities that are available.
Student initiated groups and activities are encouraged and used in planning campus activities. These range from birthday committees to recreational activities to crafts/baking etc. These activities vary according to the interests, hobbies and abilities of the students. Most students also take advantage of the spectacular natural settings in the Arava by hiking and camping out in the desert, making use of an outdoor low-environmental impact campsite constructed by our students only a mile away at the foothills of the "Shayarot Cliffs" nature reserve. There is a TV, VCR, and ping-pong table accessible to the students. Twice a week the Kibbutz pub is open, and students have been known to dance into the late hours of the night.
Students, faculty and staff are active on many issues of nature protection and environmental conservation. Students at the Arava Institute are part of the wider Green Course (Megama Yeruka) student activism movement and participate in the campaigns of other organizations active in the area. Student-initiated committees such as gardening, composting and recycling are frequently active.
On Kibbutz Ketura there is 24-hour access to a basketball court, two tennis courts, and a soccer field that is also great for Frisbee. The swimming pool is open from April to October with daily access for the students. A 2.5 km running trail circles the periphery of the kibbutz and the desert provides many hiking and mountain biking opportunities. Students can participate in yoga/dance/movement, martial arts, weight lifting, and other weekly classes that may be offered periodically at the nearby regional center for an additional cost.
Most of our students take advantage of our adopted family program and get matched up with one of the families on the Kibbutz. It provides a connection for the students with the Kibbutz members as well as a great place to go visit and feel at home. If volunteering on the kibbutz is something that interests the student, many possibilities exist. Helping out on the kibbutz can range from an evening shift in the dining hall to helping with decorations for the holiday celebrations and "home-grown" cultural activities, which utilize the various talents of those who live here. There are also cultural events, concerts, and other festive gatherings that occur on the kibbutz throughout the year that the students are invited to attend. For more information of about the Kibbutz, check the Kibbutz Ketura Web Site: www.ketura.org.il.
There is a bus that provides transportation to the regional movie theater to see the latest movies that have come to Israel. Eilat is also a 30 minute bus ride away providing everything a city has to offer: restaurants, malls, movies, theater, beaches, snorkeling in Eilat's coral reefs, environmental activism, etc.
Campus Activities
Student initiated groups and activities are encouraged and used in planning campus activities. These range from birthday committees to recreational activities to crafts/baking etc. These activities vary according to the interests, hobbies and abilities of the students. Most students also take advantage of the spectacular natural settings in the Arava by hiking and camping out in the desert, making use of an outdoor low-environmental impact campsite constructed by our students only a mile away at the foothills of the "Shayarot Cliffs" nature reserve. There is a TV, VCR, and ping-pong table accessible to the students. Twice a week the Kibbutz pub is open, and students have been known to dance into the late hours of the night.
Environmental Activism
Students, faculty and staff are active on many issues of nature protection and environmental conservation. Students at the Arava Institute are part of the wider Green Course (Megama Yeruka) student activism movement and participate in the campaigns of other organizations active in the area. Student-initiated committees such as gardening, composting and recycling are frequently active.
Keeping Fit
On Kibbutz Ketura there is 24-hour access to a basketball court, two tennis courts, and a soccer field that is also great for Frisbee. The swimming pool is open from April to October with daily access for the students. A 2.5 km running trail circles the periphery of the kibbutz and the desert provides many hiking and mountain biking opportunities. Students can participate in yoga/dance/movement, martial arts, weight lifting, and other weekly classes that may be offered periodically at the nearby regional center for an additional cost.
Getting Involved in Kibbutz Life
Most of our students take advantage of our adopted family program and get matched up with one of the families on the Kibbutz. It provides a connection for the students with the Kibbutz members as well as a great place to go visit and feel at home. If volunteering on the kibbutz is something that interests the student, many possibilities exist. Helping out on the kibbutz can range from an evening shift in the dining hall to helping with decorations for the holiday celebrations and "home-grown" cultural activities, which utilize the various talents of those who live here. There are also cultural events, concerts, and other festive gatherings that occur on the kibbutz throughout the year that the students are invited to attend. For more information of about the Kibbutz, check the Kibbutz Ketura Web Site: www.ketura.org.il.
Regional Activities
There is a bus that provides transportation to the regional movie theater to see the latest movies that have come to Israel. Eilat is also a 30 minute bus ride away providing everything a city has to offer: restaurants, malls, movies, theater, beaches, snorkeling in Eilat's coral reefs, environmental activism, etc.