MACHIAS (AP) – While their parents harvested blueberries under the hot sun, the children of migrant workers enjoyed a mix of learning fun, including reading and math skills, at the Blueberry Harvest School.

The federally funded program held this year at the University of Maine at Machias attracted a total of 180 children before it ended Friday, said director Nora Murray, who administers migrant education programs through the Maine Department of Education.

The three-week program provided academic and recreational opportunities for children ages 3 to 13 while their parents worked the fields.

About 80 percent of the children and their families came from MicMac reservations in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, she said.

Many of the other families will move on to the next agricultural opportunity, or else return to their homes in Mexico or other Spanish-speaking countries. Migrant families also came for this summer’s harvest from Florida, Texas, Mississippi and Wisconsin.

Relocating the summer program to the UMM campus, after several years amid other sites in Harrington, Cherryfield and Steuben, had rewards beyond anyone’s expectations.

The children used the pool daily at the university’s Center for Lifelong Learning. They enjoyed breakfast and lunch in UMM’s dining hall, where food choices were plentiful. Salad and taco bars were popular, and fruit and healthful snacks were always available.

All-you-can-eat pizza was a hit early in the program, when the staff held an open house on campus one evening for teenagers, adults and families.

The older children, the 12- and 13-year-olds who spent the full three weeks on campus, interacted with two of UMM’s professors. Artist Gene Henderson taught them sculpture. Marine biologist Gayle Krause took them on field trips to tidal pools in Roque Bluffs and the shellfish hatchery on Beals Island.

Those who wanted tours of the campus got to see classrooms and dormitory rooms.

Everyone heard about opportunities to attend college, whether they end up at UMM or somewhere else. Few of the parents and adults had ever been on a college campus, Murray said, so it made for an evening of many layers.

“Research shows that visits to college campuses by kids makes a difference,” Murray said. “We are so appreciative that we could use the UMM campus this summer.”