Camp Overview

About This U & Maps

Staff Ratio Guarantee

Safety & Peace of Mind

Sample Week

In the News

Testimonials

FAQ

Computer Camps Held at UC Berkeley

iD Tech Camps, Ages 7-17

WEEKLONG | CO-ED | DAY CAMPS | OVERNIGHT CAMPS
COURSE TOPICS: VIDEO GAME DESIGN, PROGRAMMING, APPS, WEB DESIGN & MORE

Ignite your internalDrive and do something BIG this summer! iD Tech Camps is a family company – and our company is a unique place. Some call it magical. We’re the World’s #1 Tech Camp – consistently ranked a Top Workplace. One of our big secrets? Ridiculously small ratios. Small ratios mean personalized instruction – just 8 students per instructor or fewer – or you get a free week of camp, guaranteed! Our adult-only staff are tech-savvy undergraduates, graduate students and professionals, passionate about teaching game design, film, computer science and more.

This is our 12th season hosting summer camps at our UC Berkeley location in Berkeley, CA. We strike the right balance between off-computer activities (creative games, sports, life skills, etc.) and essential technology education to foster STEM skill development (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Our popular Cal summer day camps and overnight camps are among a handful of East Bay summer camps accredited by the American Camp Association. If you are looking for other locations in the Bay Area, we also offer summer camps at Stanford University, St. Mary’s College of Moraga and Santa Clara University, to name a few.

We offer a variety of cutting-edge summer camp courses for beginner through advanced learners. Kids and teens learn one course topic per week, specializing in video game design, iPhone® app development, Flash® animation, programming, video editing and more – using the best brand name products from Adobe®, Apple®, Autodesk®, Google, Microsoft® and beyond. Come explore the college campus and gain skills that will last long after summer camp ends. Continue to Step 2 for Course Availability, Tuition & Dates.

About UC Berkeley

NOTE: Looking for our exact location on campus? You must first be enrolled; you can then access that information through My Account. Not yet enrolled? Go to Step 2 to enroll. The maps included here are for general information only.

Many students use their summer camp experience with iD Tech Camps to explore colleges that they’re interested in attending in the future. Learn on campus, eat in the dining halls and ages 10+ can even stay overnight (at most campuses).

We have chosen UC Berkeley to host our kids summer computer camps and teen camps in the San Francisco Bay Area because Berkeley’s academic departments consistently rank among the top five in the country. This campus is an oasis that preserves much of the tranquil beauty of California’s early years. The wooded 178-acre central campus area is known for its architectural and historical landmarks as well as the scenic passage of Strawberry Creek traversing the campus from end to end.

The campus is approximately 30 miles from both San Francisco and Oakland Airports and is an excellent urban-based option for our multiple San Francisco Bay Area summer computer camps. The campus is accessible by the Berkeley BART station (Bay Area Rapid Transit) which is located at the foot of campus. The BART train conveniently runs to Berkeley from both the Oakland and San Francisco International Airports.

UC Berkeley

The UC Berkeley campus is the oldest of all ten University of California campuses. The campus overlooks San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. The university is frequently rated the #1 public university in the country by U.S. News and World Report.

UC Berkeley Facts

Nickname: The Bears
Founded: 1868
Schools & Organizations at UC Berkeley: UC Berkeley, often referred to as Cal, was established in 1868. It is the oldest of the major University of California campuses. There are over 130 academic departments structured into 14 colleges and schools. They consist of the College of Chemistry, College of Engineering, College of Environmental Design, College of Letters and Science, College of Natural Resources, Graduate School of Education, Graduate School of Journalism, Haas School of Business, Goldman School of Public Policy, School of Information, School of Law, School of Optometry, School of Public Health, and the School of Social Welfare.
Student Population: There are over 25,000 undergraduates and 10,000 postgraduates.
Athletics: Cal athletes compete in the NCAA and are nicknamed the California Golden Bears. A member of both the Pacific-10 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Cal athletics have won national titles in various sports including football, men’s basketball, baseball, softball, water polo, rugby, and crew. They have won more than 100 Olympic medals.
Rankings: UC Berkeley is ranked high for academics annually according to many well-known publications and institutions. Did you know that UC Berkeley was ranked as the #1 public university in the U.S.A according to the U.S. News and World Report? Also, according to the National Research Council, 35 of 36 Berkeley graduate programs rank in the top 10 in their respective fields. The Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked Berkeley third in 2008.
Distinguished Alumni & Personnel: This is a short list of the many well-known graduates of UC Berkeley: Norman Mineta, 14th United States Secretary of Transportation and namesake of the Mineta San Jose International Airport; Governor Jennifer Granholm, first female governor of Michigan; Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer; Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel; Scott Adams, creator of the comic strip Dilbert; Alice Waters, celebrity chef, founder of Chez Panisse and the originator of California cuisine; Astronaut Margaret Rhea Seddon.

Meals

All meals are included with our overnight and extended day programs. Day campers have the option of purchasing the lunch plan or bringing a sack lunch. The lunch plan is recommended, but not mandatory. If the lunch plan is purchased, lunch is provided Monday-Friday. Many university dining facilities do not permit outside food to be brought into the dining hall; students bringing bag lunches may eat outside of the dining hall with their classmates and instructors. Lunch is provided to all students on Fridays, as part of an iD-style picnic.

Maps/Carpool

See maps and driving directions in My Account for detailed directions on how to get to our exact location on campus.

Want to Carpool? Go green and save some green when you carpool to camp! Sign up for our Carpool app in My Account to see the other families in your area that are interested in carpooling.

Staff Ratio Guarantee

iD Guarantee

Students learn in small classes for a personalized experience. How small? Classes typically have 5, 6, 7, or 8 students – but never more than 8 per instructor. That's the iD Guarantee - if we ever go over an 8:1 ratio, you get a free week of camp!

Adult-Only Instructors

iD Tech Camps recruits energetic, experienced instructors to teach our technology courses and supervise our students. Our summer staff is adult-only, with no Counselors-in-Training.

Personalized Instruction

Courses are personalized to students' abilities, and therefore suitable for beginner to advanced levels in most cases. Because of the ridiculously small ratios (max 8:1 or a free week with the iD Guarantee), instructors have time to consistently work with students 1-on-1 and adjust curriculum to their interests and experience level.

Project-Based Curriculum

We encourage a hands-on approach to technology; students learn by doing. Each student is provided with a computer and learns to work with the same products that professionals use in their fields. Students complete a project showing off their new technology skills by the end of each weeklong session they attend. By focusing on practical applications of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills, iD prepares students to take their new tech knowledge back into the real world.

Staff at this Location

Meet some of the amazing instructors that have taught at UC Berkeley over the years.

• “Mimi”: Mimi loves teaching and learning and plans to work in education as his career. He returns yearly to work for iD Tech Camps because he knows that the computer and technical skills taught to the campers are both useful and career-building.
• “Biceps”: Biceps is a certified secondary mathematics teacher (grades 7-12) in the states of Colorado and Pennsylvania. He has worked as part of a management team in the summer technology camp industry for over 4 years, and been with iD Tech Camps for over 2 years. Where does the nickname Biceps come from? His main hobby is semi-professional arm wrestling. He has competed in 37 different states since 2005 and holds 3 different state titles.
• “Shark”: Shark has a B.A. in Business Information Systems and currently works at a high school teaching mathematics to English Language Learners. He also has a growing Web Design business with clients such as the City of Coalinga. His future goal is to branch out into educational software design and start a not-for-profit organization dedicated to bettering California’s school systems.
• “Animal”: Animal worked as his team’s lead designer in the 2010 Robot Wars contest that is organized each year at the University Metropolia. He’s worked with 3D programs since he was only 14 years old. He created his first 2D platform videogame at the age of 15, and his fist special effects movie at the age of 16. Currently, he’s working on projects using Photoshop, Flash and Dreamweaver.
• “Bacon”: Bacon graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Celtic Studies and an associate’s degree in Computer Science. He maintains computers at a gaming center for most of the year, but has taught at tech camps as an instructor for over 3 years. He has also been playing games for many years, and knows almost everything about them!

Safety & Peace of Mind

Risk Management

Adult staff and instructors supervise all activities. iD has a policy of never using Counselors-in-Training (CITs).

American Camp Association^® Accreditation

iD Tech Camps is accredited by the ACA at multiple locations, meaning we have met over 300 health and safety requirements. All camps follow ACA guidelines.

Background Checks

We conduct criminal background checks, sexual offender background checks, multiple reference checks and identification checks on all summer staff.

CPR & First Aid

All camps have Directors and Staff that are CPR and First Aid Certified.

Sample Week

A typical day varies depending on session and location, but it might look something like this:

	SUNDAY	MONDAY - THURSDAY	FRIDAY
7:30 am		Extended Day Campers – Check In Overnight & Extended Day Campers - Breakfast
8:30 am		Day Campers - Drop Off & Arrival Activities
9 am		Welcome & Opening Activity	Finesse Projects to Gold Version
9:30 am		Instruction – Jump on the computers!
10 am
11 am			Friday Activity
12 pm		Lunch – Overnight and Extended Day Campers eat in the campus dining hall.  Day Campers can choose to bring a bag lunch or purchase the meal plan.	Picnic Lunch
			Raffle
1 pm		Instruction – Back to the labs, woo hoo!	Showcase Prep
2 pm			Family Showcase
2:30 pm		Techtivities – Ultimate Frisbee?  Apples to Apples anyone?  Gaming tournaments?  We’ve got it all!
			All campers - Check Out
3:30 pm		Instruction – Back to the labs!	Ultimate Gaming Weekends – Option available at select locations.
5 pm		Day Campers - Pick Up & Closing Activities Overnight & Extended Day Campers – Open Lab/Free Time
5:30 pm	Overnight Campers - Check In
6 pm	Welcome	Dinner
6:30 pm	Dinner	Evening Activity - Movie Nights, Local Outings, Gaming Tournaments & more!
7 pm		Extended Day Campers – Pick Up
7:30 pm	Evening Activity	Evening Activity – cont’d.
8 pm
8:30 pm	Drills
9 pm	Chillax
10 pm	PreTeen Lights Out
11 pm	Lights Out!

Off-Computer Camp Activities

Students typically spend 5-6 hours on the computer each day. iD Tech Camps is careful to balance technology and fun - giving students Tech-Reation time. When they're not on the computer, students participate in fun summer activities like talent shows, play board games, compete in sports, take part in gaming tournaments and more.

Family Showcase

Every Friday afternoon, we invite parents and friends to come and experience iD Tech Camps. See the labs where students learn, explore campus, meet our staff, applaud students' course projects and attend the personalized diploma ceremony.

Hours/ Camp Options

Day Camp - Day Camp runs Monday through Friday, with drop off between 8:30 - 9 am and pick up between 5 - 5:30 pm (3:30 pm on Fridays).
Extended Day - Extended Day Camp runs Monday through Friday, with drop off at 7:30 am and pick up at 7 pm (3:30 pm on Fridays).
Overnight Options - Overnight camps are available at most locations for students ages 10 and up. Overnight camp runs Sunday through Friday, with drop off at 6 pm on Sunday and pick up at 3:30 pm on Friday.
Ultimate Gaming Weekends - Stay the weekend and game with us. UGW is fully supervised and includes housing, meals and supervision. It is available at the end of an Overnight Camp week or as a bridge between two consecutive weeks of Overnight Camp. Not available at all locations.

Attention Northern CA Teens!

Our summer camps in NorCal at UC Berkeley just got even cooler for our teen students. We have specialized teen activities including free time to hang out, movie nights, extra project time, and as always, plenty of gaming. Check out our other cool teen-only programs like the iD Gaming Academy, iD Programming Academy, iD Visual Arts Academy and Ultimate Gaming Weekends (offered at select locations).

iD in the News

UC Berkeley News

As appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek - Computer Camp: No Canoes, Just Coding (and Kickball)

Aug 4th, 2011

As appeared in the Davis Enterprise - Camp gives Davis teens a tech advantage

Jul 29th, 2011

Kara Tsuboi, CNET reporter for CBS Newspath, visits iD Tech Camps held at Stanford University

Jul 14th, 2011

As appeared in the The Sunnyvale Sun- article about our CA camps held at Stanford

Jul 11th, 2011

Summer Camp Staff Training, Random Shoes & Green Hair

Jun 14th, 2011

Testimonials From UC Berkeley

What Parents Are Saying

“This is a great, organized summer camp experience. I love the creativity and the new skills learned. Great camp! Dagmar S., parent, UC Berkeley

“My son was totally engaged for the entire week. It was as if he had finally found the tribe that spoke his language. His instructor was helpful, patient and enthusiastic. My son is very inspired! Sandy M., parent, UC Berkeley

“My son had a great experience and came home from the camp with a working iPhone and iPad app. He learned a lot at camp…it was a very positive experience for him. Carolyn M., parent, UC Berkeley

“This is my son’s favorite camp. Even though this is his 5th session over 3 years, he likes the challenge and all of the learning that goes on. His counselors were great for the type of kid who wants to program and create games – they all speak the same language. Kathleen N., parent, UC Berkeley

“I was impressed that staff remembered me after the first day! Very friendly, helpful greetings were much appreciated. A great week all round. Julie R., parent, UC Berkeley

What Campers Are Saying

“Other programs I have used have made platform game creation complicated and confusing, but MMF2 and my instructor made this comprehensible. iD Tech Camps is great, and I recommend it to anyone who likes technology! Nory K., student, UC Berkeley

“This being my 4th year at iD Tech Camps, I can truly say it is an unsurpassed experience worth every penny and dime to its furthest and fullest extent. I have always found the activities, people and location of the uttermost quality. Jordan G., student, UC Berkeley

“I loved the caring nature of the camp staff. Their experience with the tools we used was phenomenal. Even though I was using a slightly different system, my counselor was willing to research the answers to my questions! Linus H., student, UC Berkeley

“This is my second year coming to iD Tech Camps. I love every summer because of the intelligent, fun and friendly staff that organizes fun and interactive activities. They also give the best material needed for success. It is a great place to interact with new people and make friends, while learning something new, in a very cool and fun way. Robert E., student, UC Berkeley

“iD Tech Camps is great! I not only have fun, but I also learn valuable tech skills. I’ve had lots of fun and I hope I can attend as long as possible. Dylan L., student, UC Berkeley

Frequently Asked Questions

What courses are offered at this location?
Go to Step 2.

When does camp start?
See Step 2 for the dates of our weeklong university summer computer camps.

How much does camp cost?
The cost of tuition varies depending on the course, location and camp option that you choose. Basic Day Camp ranges from $749 to $1,049 per weeklong course. There are additional costs for program add-ons.

How can I save on tuition?
There are many ways for you to save!

• Register early to take advantage of our seasonal promotions.
• Refer-a-Friend and you and your friend both save $50.
• Sign up for multiple weeks to save $50 off each additional week.
• Register multiple siblings and save $50 for each sibling.

Do you offer financial aid?
iD Tech Camps is proud to offer tuition assistance for families who qualify. Application deadlines are announced each year in the Spring.

What is your cancellation policy?
Balance payments, less the non-refundable deposit, are refundable up until 3 weeks prior to the start of the confirmed camp week/session. No refunds will be issued for cancellations or withdrawals within 3 weeks of the start of confirmed camp weeks/sessions. All cancellations must be made online in My Account or submitted in writing to the internalDrive Inc. office no later than 3 weeks prior to the start of camp. For more details, please see our Terms & Conditions.

Does my child need to have a high computer IQ?
No, our courses are for beginner to advanced students. Because of our small ratios, instructors can work with students 1-on-1 and personalize the curriculum for each student's level.

Should my child bring a personal laptop to camp?
No, students do not need to bring laptops to camp. We provide a computer for each student to use for the week. All materials necessary for the course will be provided.

Do you have any teen programs?
iD Tech Camps has a Teen Scene that provides older students with a more independent experience on campus. Teens enjoy extra privileges appropriate for their environment and maturity levels, and although we maintain standard supervision ratios, teens will feel a sense of freedom. Special Teen Scene activities include computer gaming tournaments and Gamingpalooza.

iD also offers specialized iD Teen Academies in Gaming, Programming and Visual Arts at select locations across the country. These teen camps are intensive, two-week courses with tours of nearby industry hot spots and bi-weekly portfolio building workshops. See our iD Teen Academies page for more information.

How do I register? How do I contact you?
To register, find availability at the location you desire, and you'll be guided through the process. Registering online is the fastest way to get into camp. Or, you can phone us at 1-888-709-TECH (8324) or 1-408-871-2227. You can also email us at info@internalDrive.com. And, if you'd like a brochure sent to you, please click the brochure link.

Course Tuition (Program options are found on the next step)