CREVE COEUR — At the Little Medical School, children learn how to use a stethoscope, suture a wound, save a choking victim and make a tourniquet. Clean hands and sterilized equipment are essentials in any medical setting, big or little.

And that may never be more true than it will be next week, when the Creve Coeur business will host a spring break camp for about 20 children ages 4 to 11.

While sports, gatherings and other large-scale events were falling off the calendar amid “social distancing” efforts, more than a dozen area spring break camps said Thursday they were still on track to open. They planned to beef up disinfecting, encourage hand-washing, reduce group sizes and, hopefully, add a bit more distance between kids.

A few camp organizers said they were taking it day to day. Only one contacted by the Post-Dispatch had canceled.

“We have a lot of parents who are relying on this camp and we want to be there for the students,” said Jennifer Griffard, the chief operating officer at the Little Medical School, which opened in 1998.

“Anyone who shows any signs of coughing will be removed from the class,” she said. Some parents have canceled, Griffard said. But the camp is carrying on, cleaning, sanitizing and taking as many precautions as possible.

Same goes for a Mad Science camp planned for 20 children at the Lodge in Des Peres next week.

“We are at maximum,” said Alan Simon, president of Mad Science St. Louis. “Last I checked, there was a wait list.”

He said “everything going into the camp and coming back out of the camp is going to be completely wiped down with sanitizing wipes or soap and water.”