As appeared in Parent's Express – article about youth summer camps

As appeared in My School Rocks Magazine…

As appeared in The Pittsburgh Tribune…

As appeared in Parent's Express – article about youth summer camps

March 26th, 2010 by: Ryan

Not your parents’ camp experience

By Kristin Boyd

When it came time to select a summer activity last year, twins Ross and Scott Padalino of Bucks County were uninterested in the typical fishing/hiking/roasting-marshmallows-on-an-open-fire/sleep-away camps.

Instead, the computer enthusiasts enrolled in iD Tech Camp, where staff members taught them how to build interactive Web sites using Dreamweaver. Afterward, the 10-year-olds started their own Web site development company and designed a new Web site for Wrightstown Used Auto and Truck Parts in Newtown.

The boys didn’t know it then, says their mother, Hope Padalino, but the weeklong Web course was as much about experiential learning as it was about enjoying summer vacation.

“The staff made computers so fun that the boys didn’t even realize they were learning skills that they could use much further in life,” she says. “It got them so excited, and they were motivated to build Web sites. It gave them a skill for life, and they didn’t realize this was educational for them.”

Specialty camps like iD Tech Camp, Curious Jane and the Franklin Institute’s Discovery Camp are popular options with parents who want to enhance or supplement their child’s education without boring them. By incorporating fun, hands-on projects and activities, specialty camps can tap into a child’s interest, hobby or natural curiosity while also promoting continuous learning.

According to summer camp administrators, the reinforced educational component is what makes learning-based specialty camps stand out, particularly because most stray from the standard A-B-C, 1-2-3 lesson plan. For example, courses might teach vocabulary through screenwriting, math skills through robot building and reading skills through mock newscasts.

At the Franklin Institute’s Discovery Camp, which offers programs for ages 5-13 and will launch a preschool program this summer, children are immersed in science and technology through hands-on projects based on themed weeks.

“It’s to inspire a passion of learning of science and technology,” says Dr. Steve Snyder, vice president of Exhibits and Program Development at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. “We want to maintain or reengage their curiosity about the world and make science real and successful to them,” he says.

During “Inside Out,” campers learn about engineering and design while dissecting toys and appliances. During “Going, Going, Gone!,” they brush up on physics and mechanics while studying roller coasters and launching their own rockets. In “Dirty Science” – one of the most popular themes – campers deal with “the messiest, slimiest, stinkiest science out there,” Snyder says. “It’s really fun, but, at the heart of it, it’s physics and chemistry.”

Staff members at Champions Science Adventures, held at Villanova University, use familiar materials like Popsicle sticks and plastic cups to show children how science relates to their everyday lives.

“It’s science enrichment,” says Andy Allan, the camp’s director of curriculum. “We spark their interest and build on their natural curiosity. We make it feel like science isn’t separate from them. It’s part of their lives.”

Children are encouraged to experiment, discover and problem solve by launching hydro-powered rockets 100 feet into the air during “Space and Rocketry,” building a naturalist tool kit during “Go Wild!,” and, in a nod to CSI investigators, unearthing treasure and deciphering writing during “The Mystery of the Pharaoh.”

“We want them to make something on their own that they can take home,” says Allan, a former physics science teacher. “We want them to say, ‘Science is cool, and I can do it. I can have success with it.’”

Science specialty camps aren’t the only option for youngsters. Aspiring 24 investigators can “train” at Camp Lohikan’s Spy Camp in the Pocono Mountains; teens dreaming of directing the next “Avatar” can learn how to write, shoot and edit a video project at Filmtech’s summer filmmaking camps in Philadelphia; and, like a scene plucked from an episode of “Project Runway,” budding fashionistas can learn how to sketch designs, pin and cut patterns, and sew straight, zig-zag and overlock stitches at Fashion It Sewing!’s summer camps in Westtown Township.

For those kids ages 11-17 who like to rock out, there’s Summer Music Programs, which promote learning through collaboration with peers and professional musicians. Started by music teachers Greg Wright and Chet Makowski in 1993 and held at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, the weeklong camps are offered both during the day and overnight.

“There are no one-on-one music lessons because that’s what they have all year, and most of these kids take individual lessons,” Wright says. “This is more of an outlet for their music.”

Each camper is assigned to a band, which must rehearse with a professional musician. The bands can perform cover songs or write their own music, and on Thursdays, they head to the studio to record a CD. On Fridays, their final day, they perform a full-stage concert, occasionally in Love Park in Philadelphia, for family and friends.

“What they get done in a week’s time pretty much amazes them,” Wright says, adding many campers are also more confident as they head back to school. “They are proud of themselves and their songs.”

Curious Jane, an all-girls day camp held at Bryn Mawr College and Springside in Philadelphia, encourages academic enrichment through popular classes like toy design, illustration and animal nature, says founder Samantha Razook Murphy.

“A single sex, gender affirming environment has such a powerful, positive impact on girls, both socially and with learning,” she says. “Their imagination is just going crazy. They’re figuring things out so they have these ah-ha moments.”

With classes that involve storyboarding, science experiments, magazine layout and reassembling salvaged items into new objects, the girls remain engaged in reading, writing and science while learning how to be creative and solve problems.

“They are pushed to experiment with things, and because there are no right answers, it’s OK for them to try something, even if it doesn’t work,” Razook Murphy says. “That’s something that they can directly take back to their school-year environment. They learn there are different ways to approach a project. For example, instead of turning in a regular outline, maybe they’ll sketch it out.”

As for the Padalino boys, they earned enough money from their Web site “job” to return to iD Tech Camp (offered at Villanova and Princeton universities), and take a game development course. Their success, according to spokeswoman Karen Thurm Safran, will surely inspire other campers.

“There’s nothing more rewarding than making learning fun for your children and really exposing them to something that’s taking their interest many steps forward,” she says.

Kristin Boyd is a freelance writer from Totowa, N.J.