Make It Better 2015 Camp Guide

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2015 DIGITAL EDITION

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Family Camps, Saddle Up for Fun, Tech Camps, Art Camps, 2015 Camp Directory

Transcript of Make It Better 2015 Camp Guide

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2015

DIGITAL EDITION

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OUR GOAL AS PARENTS is to build a secure inner structure which will prepare our children with skills for life.

FOR KIDS, CAMP IS ALL ABOUT FUN & FRIENDS!

At our camps your child will be surrounded by purposeful leaders who will care for and guide your child in:

• Specializing in a variety of activities• Building self reliance in a safe environment• Practicing leadership skills with confi dence

3 Generations of Trusted Educators 2 Amazing Camps 1 Great Summer!

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SUMMER CAMP

7460 Market Place Drive | Eden Prarie, MN 55344www.lincoln-lakehubert.com | 800-242-1909

Founded in 1909 and nestled on the pristine shores of Lake Hubert in the Minnesota Northwoods, Camp Lincoln and Camp Lake Hubert focus on skill and character development for boys and girls aged 5 to 17. We strive to create a safe summer camp environment for children that encourages the discovery of self and a sense of wonder in the natural world!

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contents2015 camp guide

All in the Family: Family Camps uBY SHANNAN YOUNGER

Life in the Spotlife: Arts Camps uBY JENNY MUSLIN

Saddle Up For Fun uBY SHANNAN YOUNGER

Fun and Learning From Minecraft to Mars: Tech Camps uBY SHANNAN YOUNGER

COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF CAMP MEDOMAK FAMILY CAMP

Singing, Dancing, Acting, Sports & Activities• Co-Ed, ages 7 - 18 • On Lake Michigan

• 1, 3 & 6 week sessionsGives Campers: Self-confi dence, Theatre knowledge & experience, Lifelong

friendships through our caring and non-competitive environment

WHERE “NO MAN IS AN ISLAND” AND EVERYONE IS A STAR!

CONTACT US AT: 847. 864 [email protected] | HARANDCAMP.COM

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Singing, Dancing, Acting, Sports & Activities• Co-Ed, ages 7 - 18 • On Lake Michigan

• 1, 3 & 6 week sessionsGives Campers: Self-confi dence, Theatre knowledge & experience, Lifelong

friendships through our caring and non-competitive environment

WHERE “NO MAN IS AN ISLAND” AND EVERYONE IS A STAR!

CONTACT US AT: 847. 864 [email protected] | HARANDCAMP.COM

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Does your child love being in the spotlight or dream of being part of a theatrical

production? These camps are perfect for those who have a passion for the arts. Not only will children enjoy an unforgettable

camp experience, but they will also benefit by learning from theater professionals and

performing on a real stage.

Life in the Spotlight: arts camps

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Harand Camp of the Theatre ArtsHarand Camp celebrates its 61st season in 2015. The camp’s motto, “No Man is an Island,” personifies its belief that there’s a role for every child, regardless of skill level. Each camper finds a time to shine during the camp experi-ence. Campers spend half the day in theater classes (singing, dancing and acting) and the other half of the day in elec-tives of their choosing such as sports, art and film. Evening and weekend activities may include a talent show, day at the beach or costume ball. Around 150 campers stay in dormitories on the Kenosha campus of Carthage College, overlooking Lake Michigan. Three- and six-week sessions are offered, and first-time

campers can try out a special one-week session to get a taste of camp life. Each session cul-minates in a large-scale per-formance for friends, family and alumni in a state-of-the-art theater, with past produc-tions including “West Side Story,” “Legally Blonde” and “The Wizard of Oz.”

Ages: 7 to 18Location: Kenosha, Wisc.For more information, visit harandcamp.com or call 847-864-1500

Second City Summer Comedy CampWork the stage where some of comedy’s biggest stars got their start. Campers hone their skills in sketch comedy and improvisation, while learning the fundamentals of comedy

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and developing their own self-confidence in the process. At Second City Summer Comedy Camp, students are grouped by age and can choose from a variety of courses—everything from classic “Improv” to the more specialized “Creating Digital Shorts.” Choose from one- or two-week long ses-sions, with the two-week ses-sions culminating in a perfor-mance for friends and family. Students also enjoy a special performance by The Second City National Touring Com-pany and an end-of-camp pizza party.

Ages: 8 to18Location: 1608 N. Wells St., ChicagoFor more information, visit secondcity.com/training or call 312-664-3959

Brant Lake Dance Camp Nestled in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, Brant Lake Dance Camp was founded in 1980 by Sharon Gersten Luckman, former executive director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Brant Lake is truly for the girl who loves

Lookingglass Theatre Summer Arts Quest Camp

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to dance, and with just 50 campers, it creates an intimate environment where lasting friendships are created. A camp session is four-and-a-half weeks long, and each day, professional dance instruction is paired with traditional camp activities like watersports, arts and crafts, campfires and co-ed socials with the neighboring boy’s camp. Accommodations include carpeted cabins within a spacious main lodge, while dance classes take place in professional rehearsal studios. Campers perform weekly on stage, in addition to a showcase performance that takes place in the last days of camp. Stu-dents also experience various day trips such as an excursion to see a New York City Ballet performance or an overnight

stay in Montreal.

Ages: 11 to 16Location: Brant Lake, N.Y.For more information, visit brantlakedancecamp.com

Lookingglass Theatre Summer Arts Quest Camp Over the course of two weeks, students study physical the-atre (storytelling through movement) and acting, and create an original play to be performed on Lookingglass Theatre’s main stage. Some of this summer’s productions will include “Peter Pan” and “Around the World in 80 Days.” During a typical camp day, campers take classes in physical theatre and acting. Physical theatre can include circus, tumbling, juggling,

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June 15 – August 14

Where Science, Nature & Fun Meet!Science, nature, art, and ecology come together

for kids ages 2 to 15

u Click here to view classes and resiter online.

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stage combat and shadow puppetry, while acting class includes ensemble-building, skill development and writ-ing/adaptation. Students write original scripts based on the session’s production and put their newly learned physical theatre skills to use during their final performance. “Each session accommodates up to 40 students, and with a high rate of returning families, this program almost always sells out!” says Lizzie Perkins,

Lookingglass Theater Com-pany’s Director of Education.

Ages: 8 to 14Location: Fourth Presbyterian Gratz Center, 126 E. Chestnut St., ChicagoFor more information, visit lookingglasstheatre.org/educa-tion or call 773-477-9257, x.104

Stagedoor ManorSome of Hollywood’s bright-est stars are alumni of Stage-door Manor (Natalie Portman, PH

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Robert Downey Jr., and Lea Michele to name a few). Lo-cated in New York’s Catskill Mountains, 240 campers from all over the world participate in daily performing arts classes in addition to recreational activi-ties. Some of the unique theater classes include Audition Tech-nique, Directing and Playwrit-ing. Students will also enjoy Master Classes taught by noted Broadway, TV, and film per-

formers, and workshops with agents, managers and casting directors. Evenings may in-clude outdoor movies, dance parties and even an open-mic coffee house. A summer at Stagedoor Manor is composed of three sessions, each three weeks long. Campers stay in a former resort hotel, with three to five kids in each dorm-style room. Sessions culminate with various full-scale performances

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in one of eight indoor and out-door theaters.

Ages: 10 to 18Location: Loch Sheldrake, N.Y.For more information, visit stagedoormanor.com or call 845-434-4290

Interlochen Arts Camp Nearly 2,600 campers from all over the globe flock to north-west Michigan each summer to immerse themselves in per-forming and visual arts classes

taught by industry profession-als and university professors. During a one-, three-, or six-week session, students choose a specific major, such as dance or music, or sign up for Gen-eral Arts, which encompasses all of the fine arts. In addition to their major, campers take electives to explore other ar-eas of interest and participate in recreational activities like boating, archery or arts and crafts, as well as trips to the dunes or beach. Programs end with a performance or mul-tiple performances, while or-chestra students may perform weekly.

Ages: grades 3 to 12Location: Interlochen, Mich. For more information, visit interlochen.org or call 800-681-5912

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RATED BEST PERFORMING ARTS DAY CAMPSLocations in Libertyville and Highland Park

• Improv Comedy • Musical Theater: “Frozen” & “Newsies” Film Making • Fashion and Print Modeling • 1 to 3 Week Options

June 8 - August 14 | Program Options for 2nd - High SchoolNurturing Professional Staff • Air Conditioned Facilities

In Town Field Trips • Before/After Care

Contact us at:847.968.4529 | Improvplayhouse.com

2015 CAMP SEASONJune 22 – August 14 • 4, 6 or 8 week options

� Instructional Swim Twice Daily

� Sports, Performing Arts, Archery, Nature, Tennis, Specials Week and Athletic Clinics!

� Door to door transportation

� Before and a� er camp care available

23970 N. Elm Road Lincolnshire, IL

TAMARAK DAY CAMP

SCHEDULE A TOUR OR REGISTER TODAY! 847.634.3168 • TamarakDayCamp.com

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE TAMARAK!

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2015 CAMP SEASONJune 22 – August 14 • 4, 6 or 8 week options

� Instructional Swim Twice Daily

� Sports, Performing Arts, Archery, Nature, Tennis, Specials Week and Athletic Clinics!

� Door to door transportation

� Before and a� er camp care available

23970 N. Elm Road Lincolnshire, IL

TAMARAK DAY CAMP

SCHEDULE A TOUR OR REGISTER TODAY! 847.634.3168 • TamarakDayCamp.com

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE TAMARAK!

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SADDLE UP FOR FUN

B Y S H A N N A N Y O U N G E R

Equestrian camp gives kids the chance to bond

with horses and spend time unplugged and enjoying

the great outdoors with their peers. What a great way to

spend the summer!

“Kids love horses in general. They are therapeutic,” says Jill Lanphere, an employee of Freedom Woods (freedom-woods.net) in Morton Grove and mother of a child who has ridden there for 11 years. “They don’t talk and they don’t judge.”

In addition to riding the horses, campers learn about basic grooming and tacking as well as general horsemanship and care of the animals. “Kids can learn responsibility with hors-es,” says Gig Bellows, co-owner

White Pines Ranch

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of White Pines Ranch (whit-epinesranch.com) in Oregon, Ill. “Kids can nurture and be nurtured by these large, lovable animals.”

For children who want to sad-dle up this summer, there are several great equestrian camp options.

Local Equestrian Day CampsThese camps offer one-week sessions, but campers are wel-come to sign up for more than one session. Though times vary, the camps all last be-tween four and five hours, end-ing in the early afternoon.

Freedom Woods, voted the Make it Better Best of 2014 Best Horse Riding Stables, of-fers half-day summer camps for children age 8 and older.

“At the end of the week, there

are people who come into the office and ask to sign up again for the next session,” says Lan-phere, who attributes the pop-ularity to both the counselors who have ridden at Freedom Woods for many years and to the horses, with whom kids often feel an immediate bond. She says the camps have been very popular and the sessions have been full for the past two years.

If your child is an early riser, Freedom Woods offers an early-bird program that starts at 7 a.m. and allows kids to help with morning feeding and watering of the horses, daily turnout, and preparation of equipment for the day.

Palladia Farm (palladiafarm.com) in Libertyville offers week-long camps for children ages 6 to 11. In addition to a daily riding lesson, camp-

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ers also learn about all things equestrian, including breeds of horses and riding styles, as well as enjoying some tra-ditional camp activities like scavenger hunts and arts and crafts.

In Morton Grove, the Glen Grove Summer Riding Camp (glengroveequine.com) camp-ers must be between 7 and 13 years old and they enjoy one hour of riding lessons daily, along with instruction in grooming, tacking and horse-manship. Last summer, all the sessions filled up, so don’t de-lay when registration opens in February. A small discount is available if campers sign up for multiple weeks, and those weeks do not have to be con-secutive.

Wheaton’s Danada Eques-trian Center (dupageforest.com) is now operated by the

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Dan and Ada Rice established the stables in the 1940s and were the own-ers of 1965 Kentucky Derby winner Lucky Debonair, who made his home at Danada in the Kentucky-style barn. It hosts two summer camps: “Horse Sense,” for kids age 11 and younger, is perfect for new equestrians; and “Rid-ing Sense Camp,” for camp-ers age 12 and older, which is more riding-intensive.

Overnight Equestrian CampsIf your child is ready to hit both the road and the trail and head to a full week of sleepover horse camp, White Pines Ranch is located on 200 acres of woods, pastures, and horse trails. It offers week-long overnight equestrian camps in July and August, al-though campers (ages 8 to 15)

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Riding is a therapeutic activity for campers

Learn musical theater in non-threatening nurturing atmosphereKids 8 to 13 learn acting, dancing and singing in sessions based on popular musicals. Classes begin on Monday; on Saturday the kids put on a mini-musical. No experience needed. Every child gets a part. Also “South Pacific”for teens (audition required) ages 13 to 18.

Light Opera Works516 4th Street | Wilmette | 847.920.5360LightOperaWorks.com/summer.html

JCYS North Shore Day Camp & NSDC SportsEnergetic counselors lead first- to sixth-grade campers in Camper’s Choice theme days, sports and games, arts and crafts, dance and drama, field trips and daily swim lessons, and over- and under-nighters: summers are never dull at

JCYS North Shore Day Camp & NSDC Sports!

Jewish Council for Youth ServicesHighland Park | 847.433.6001, ext. 101 jcys.org/NSDC

CampCare: Grief Support Summer Programs Children and teens often benefit from sharing the challeng-es of grief with peers. CampCare helps campers cope with the loss of a loved one while enjoying art, theatre, music and sports activities and fun with friends. Grades 4-12. Over-night and adventure camps. No cost.

Midwest Palliative & Hospice CareCenterCampCare ~ Grief Support Programs. No cost to attend.847-556-1999 | www.carecenter.org

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are welcome to stay for con-secutive weeks if they wish.

Overnight camps offer more time with the horses. “Each evening we have different activities going on, like an evening trail ride, and the campers also help to ‘turn the horses out to pasture’ in the evening after the ride is over. They help with sweeping the barn and getting it ready for the next day,” Bellows says.

Bellows notes that “living away from home for a week is a big deal for most kids” and that the benefits often aren’t directly related to the horses, including thinking for them-selves and making new friends on their own. Kids also make memories that last a lifetime at overnight camp and some-times start a family tradition. “We now have many second generations of campers whose

parents were here and want their kids to have the same great experience they did at our ranch,” Bellows says.

Adventurous kids (ages 9-17) will love their four weeks at Cheley Colorado Camps (che-ley.com), located 75 miles northwest of Denver. In ad-dition to horseback riding, campers can go rock climbing and river rafting or explore more than 600 miles of trails.

Other overnight camp options include Camp Cedar Lodge (cedarlodge.com/summer), located in Lawrence, Mich., for kids ages 8 to 16. Camp Tim-ber-Lee Horsemanship Camp (timber-lee.com) hosts chil-dren in fourth through sixth grades in East Troy, Wisc.

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uCLICK HERE TO REGISTER

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All in the family: family camps

B Y S H A N N A N Y O U N G E R

With warm summer days spent boating on a lake and hiking through the woods, and nights spent around the campfire and gazing at the stars, who wouldn’t want to go to summer camp?

Now adults want to get in on the experience. Family camps around the country are making it possible for multiple generations to enjoy the

summer camp experience together.

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Family summer camp is a unique bonding experience. “My favor-ite part is that there’s nothing to do except spend time together. There are no phones, tv or inter-net. It’s just boating, swimming, and fishing,” explains Bill Gaul of Evanston,, who has spent a week with his family at Camp Nawaka for the past three summers. “My work life is pretty wired, so it’s important to vacation un-plugged.”

The old school approach is a big part of the fun of family camps. “We do talent show skits, sing campfire songs, and watch our kids do the same thing,” says Ann Skirvin of Bloomington, Ind., who has attended Camp Brosius with her family for 12 years. “It creates a bond that you don’t find on other family vacations. These are memories our children will take with them for a lifetime

and can pass on to their kids.”

WISCONSIN Camp Brosius (petm.iupui.edu/brosius/#) is a family camp lo-cated in Elkhart Lake, Wisc., owned and operated by Indiana University, but open to all guests regardless of alma mater.

“It’s a neat thing to see this beau-tiful place inspire people and to watch them have such an enjoy-able time with family members, both those with whom they live and others who live far away,” says Camp Director Wiley Craft. “It’s a great place for a family reunion.” There are often fami-lies with four generations visiting together, from infants to octoge-narians.

“Camp is a place where we give our children more freedom than we would on a different vacation.

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We trust everyone there and the environment, so we allow them to go with their friends and do activities without the same level of worry we would have in our day to day life,” explains Skirvin, who worked at Camp Brosius while in college, as did her hus-band. They now attend with their children, ages 16 and 12. “As par-ents, we are more relaxed when we are there, and in turn, my kids are very relaxed and have so much fun.” At Camp Nawakwa (ymcachicago.org/nawakwa) in Lac du Flambeau, Wisc., family camp activities range from ice cream socials to triathlons to the popular boat-in breakfast. Even reluctant campers have been converted into devoted fans after spending some time at Camp Nawakwa.

“I am not opposed to nature on principle but I am not what any-

one would call an ‘outdoorsman.’ In fact, I fancy myself an ‘indoors-man,’” says Tania Richard, Gaul’s wife. She said that while she was dazed and confused at the archery field at first, her love for Nawakwa grew from watching her children. “I come here for my family. They love it here. That’s why I do it and always will.”

MAINEMedomak Family Camp in Maine (medomakcamp.com) is the first full-season secular fam-ily camp to be accredited by the American Camping Association. It offers traditional camp activi-ties for all ages, and also includes some adult-only options such as cheese-making classes, yoga, massage therapy and visits to the local gin distillery and art gal-lery. As fun as the adult-only op-tions sound, “Part of the appeal of family camp to a lot of adults

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is getting to do the activities that the kids do, like archery and arts and crafts. We make them more challenging for adults,” explains David Brunner, Director of Me-domak Family Camp.

The day is divided into thirds, with mornings spent with those in the same age groups, after-noons enjoyed as a family at the lake and all campers coming together as a community at night for activities like a barn dance, scavenger hunt, or sunset canoe

cruise. The schedule gives par-ents a bit of everything. “They don’t want to be away from their kids but appreciate having a little bit of time to themselves, too,” Brunner says.

He also notes that the family units that attend are not always a traditional nuclear family, with grandparents attending with grandchildren, aunt and uncles often being included and some families bringing friends.

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COLORADO Cheley Colorado Camps (che-ley.com/specialty camps) offer a popular August family camp in picturesque Estes Park, Colorado for families with children age 6 and older. Hiking, horse back rid-ing, technical climbing and target sports are a few of the activities offered.

Jeff Cheley, Director of Cheley Colorado Camps, says, “We started it in the late 1980s because parents were saying ‘I want to go to camp!’ It’s a great vacation for families because you’re not worried about where you’re going to dinner or wondering if you have tickets for tomorrow. Every night, you just sign up for activities for the next day.”

He adds, “It’s a different experi-ence. There isn’t happy hour in the evening, it’s sitting around the campfire at night or playing

games or listening to the guitar. Families keep returning and get to know other families that are coming and there’s camaraderie there as well.”

MICHIGANMcGaw YMCA Camp Echo (mc-gawymca.org/campecho), located in Fremont, Mich., hosts family camp weekends over Memorial Day and Labor Day, in addition to family camp sessions in August.

Many children begin their Camp Echo experience as toddlers dur-ing Family Camp along with their parents and grandparents, and then return in later years as sum-mer campers enrolled in camp just for kids.

All camp directors recommend-ed registering as soon as pos-sible because camps do fill up quickly.

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Receive high-level instruction from members of the

Northwestern basketball family in a competitive

learning environment.

The Northwestern University Women’s Basketball Camps off er

athletes an exciting and unique opportunity to learn from top

conference coaches and staff .

SESSION 1

August 3-7, 2015

Age: 8-14

SESSION 2

August 10-14, 2015Age: 8-14

BASKETBALL/SOCCER

Grades k-8

June 22-25

DAY CAMP

Grades 2-8

June 29-July 2

To register, visit chriscollinsbasketballcamp.com

Please call 847-491-7906 with any questions

*Camp is open to all boys, limited only by space and age*

To register, visit northwesterncatscamps.com

Please call 847-491-5709 with any questions

*All camps are open to any girl,

limited only by age and number of campers*

CHRIS COLLINS BOYS BASKETBALL CAMP

NORTHWESTERN GIRLS BASKETBALL CAMPS

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Discover yourself in the Colorado Rockies at Cheley Camps

Boy and Girls Ages 9-171-800-CAMP-FUNwww.cheley.com

We were blown away by the depth of the friendships they made, their maturity and self-confi dence. We were impressed by how the campers feel totally accepted and appreciated and in turn learn to do the same for others. – Camp Parent

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Piven Theatre Workshop927 Noyes St, EvanstonSchool: 847.866.6597 piventheatre.org

Summer Is Coming!Experience Piven’s legendary theatre technique with camps and classes in improv, scene study, story theatre, musical theatre and more.

Classes and camps are available June 15–August 10. High School Conservatory begins July 6.

Scholarships and payment plans are available. New students mention this ad

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Fun and Learning from Minecraft to Mars:

Tech Camps B Y S H A N N A N Y O U N G E R

Kids want a summer full of fun and excitement, while parents hope their children will expand their horizons and keep learning even if they aren’t in the classroom. There are numerous summer camp

options focused on technology that ensure kids have a fun, exciting, and educational expe-rience.

Whether you have a child who is obsessed with Minecraft or

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who wants to travel to Mars (or both!), there are offerings available across the country. Camps range from half-day sessions to overnight camps that last a week or two, so there are options that fit what your camper can handle.

“Look at a wide array of pro-grams, and find one that your child loves to do. Follow your child’s lead,” says Dee Guin-ey, founder of GreenApple Camps. There are as many tech camps as there are inter-ests, including those that incor-porate sports, drawing, music, math, and—of course—sci-ence. Here are a few fun op-tions to consider.

SPACE CAMP IS OUT OF THIS WORLD For many parents, the first

tech summer camp they ever heard of was Space Camp (spacecamp.com), perhaps as a result of the 1986 movie set there. Lea Thompson and Kelly Preston may not be campers any longer, but Space Camp in Hunts-ville, Alabama, is still going strong. It has attracted more than 600,000 trainees since it started in 1982. Now, in addition to three different levels of Space Camp, the U.S. Space and Rocket Cen-ter offers Aviation Challenge Camp and Robotics Camp. All three are weeklong ex-periences and offer different levels suited to kids ranging in age from nine to 18.

While most people think of Space Camp as a train-ing ground for future astro-

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nauts, “they do a really good job of focusing on jobs other than just the astronauts, so it was probably the first time that being in Mission Control crossed my mind,” says Morgan Van Arsdall of Annapolis, Maryland, who attended Space Academy I. She is now an Aerospace En-gineer for Lockheed Martin who works on the Hubble Space Telescope. “It really helped cement my interest in the space program, but it was more fun than anything else.”

If traveling to Huntsville isn’t feasible for you and your future scientist, check out a planetarium or sci-ence museum near you for summer camp offerings. The Cleveland Museum of

Natural History (cmnh.org) offers Astronomy and Cos-mology day camp to students entering high school that includes a focus on data col-lection and analysis as well as a visit to the NASA Glenn Visitor Center at the Great Lakes Science Center. In Chicago, the Adler Planetar-ium (adlerplanetarium.org) offers summer day camps for explorers in pre-school through tenth grade. Mis-sion: Near Space pairs camp-ers with Adler astronomers to prepare experiments to fly on a high altitude balloon mission.

STEM CAMPSiD Tech Camps (idtech.com/teens) offers STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) camps for kids

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ages six through 18 at 100 campus locations in 29 states and Washington, D.C. Pro-grams are held on campuses including including Stan-ford, Princeton, Yale, Har-vard, MIT, UCLA, North-western, Vassar, Columbia, and Emory. Options range from half-day day camps to overnight camps lasting up to two weeks, and top-ics include programming in Java™ or C++, apps, game

design, website design and robotics. Formers campers now work for tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Ap-ple and Zynga (the company behind Words with Friends).

Now in its thirteenth year of programming, Green Apple Camps (greenapplecamps.com) is a nonprofit organiza-tion that founder Dee Guin-ey launched after a search for summer tech opportu-

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nities for her daughters. “I realized that tech camp was something that all kids can enjoy,” she says.

GreenApple offers camps at locations in the Chicago and Boston areas. Programs range from RoboSports and Battle Bots to 3D Anima-tion. Since its inception, GreenApple programming has evolved with the com-pany “following the lead of what kids like and what par-ents like,” with coding now the most popular offering.

“Last year, I could not get over the fact that every sin-gle coding program at every single location was full. That would never have happened 10 years ago,” Guiney says. The camps focused on Mine-

craft are especially popular.

What children learn about coding in summer camp teaches them valuable les-sons. “Campers learn to ask themselves questions like, ‘What’s the objective? How do I get there? How do I collaborate?’” says Guiney. “We try to emphasize critical thinking, seeing the big pic-ture and how to attain that goal.”

“Coding is a system-design way of thinking with a proj-ect mentality that will serve anyone for the rest of their life,” Guiney explains.

Other possibilities can be found at museums across the country. In Washington, D.C. , the Smithsonian Sum-

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mer Camp (smithsonianas-sociates.org) includes week-long day camps focusing on Video Game Design, Anime, and Digital Arts Mashup. All camps have a camper to instructor ratio of 4:1. In San Jose, California, it’s no surprise that the Tech Mu-seum of Innovation (thetech.org) offers exciting sum-mer camps for kids entering grades four through eight, like DIY Virtual Reality and Mobile App Creation.

GIRLS-ONLY TECH CAMPSMicrosoft DigiGirlz High Tech Camp (microsoft.com) for high school girls aims to dispel stereotypes as well as give girls hands-on experi-ence developing cutting-edge technology. Founded

in 2000, the camp takes place in 10 locations in the United States in addition to four in-ternational locations. There is no charge for this two-to-three day camp (Duration varies by location.)

Local offerings often include girl-only options. The Adler Planetarium’s Girls Only Tech Camps are open to girls enter-ing fourth through seventh grades. Girls use Lego Robot-ics as well as Sketch-Up 3D Modeling and video recording and editing. A co-ed version of the camp is also offered.

Tech camp can be a great way to expand your chil-dren’s horizons and give them a summer experience that is out of this world—lit-erally and figuratively.

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Overnight Summer Camp • Transportation AvailableOnline Registration Available • Outrageous Fun!!

PLYMOUTH, WI • WWW.ANOKIJIG.COM • 920.893.0782

Explore, Experience,Create Lasting Memories

COED OVERNIGHT CAMP, AGES 7–16 • TRADITIONAL ACTIVITIES, HORSES, TEEN PROGRAMS, ADVENTURE TRIPS • SESSIONS FROM 4

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ACTORS TRAINING CENTER AT WILMETTE THEATRE Wilmette 847-251-8710 actorstrainingcenter.com

ALLIANCE ROWING CLUB OF ILLINOIS Wilmette 847-347-3278 allrow.org

BROADWAY BREAK THRU Wilmette 917-686-6367 broadwaybreakthru.com

CAMP ANOKIJIG Plymouth, Wisc. 920-893-0782 anokijig.com

CAMP CBG AT THE CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDENGlencoe 847-835-5440chicagobotanic.org/camp/summercamp

CAMP LINCOLN AND CAMP LAKE HUBERLake Hubert, Minn.800-242-1909lincoln-lakehubert.com

CAMP WOODLAND FOR GIRLSEagle River, Wisc. 847-446-7311campwoodland.com

CEDAR LODGELawrence, Mich. 269-674-8071 www.cedarlodge.com

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CHELEY COLORADO CAMPSEstes Park, Colo. 303-377-3616 cheley.com

CHRIS COLLINS BOYS BASKETBALL CAMPEvanston 847-491-7906 chriscollinsbasketballcamp.com

HARAND CAMP OF THE THEATRE ARTSKenosha, Wisc. 847-864-1500 harandcamp.com

IMPROV PLAYHOUSELibertyville & Highland Park847-968-4529 improvplayhouse.com

INTERLOCHEN ARTS CAMPInterlochen, Mich. 800-681-5912interlochen.org

JEWISH COUNCIL FOR YOUTH SERVICES SUMMER CAMPSChicago, Buffalo Grove, High-land Park & Inglesidejcys.org/camp

LAKE OF THE WOODS CAMP FOR GIRLS & GREEN-WOODS CAMP FOR BOYSDecatur, Mich | 847-242-009lwcgwc.com

LIGHT OPERA WORKS Wilmette | 847-920-5360lightoperaworks.org/ summer.html

LOOKINGGLASS CAMPS Chicago773-477-9257 x193lookingglasstheatre.org

NORTHWESTERN GIRLS BASKETBALL CAMPSEvanston847-491-5709northwesterncatscamps.com

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NORTHWESTERN VOLLEYBALL CAMPSEvanston | 847-467-2134northwesternvolleyball camps.com

NU BOYS SOCCEREvanston847-467-1312nusoccercamps.com

NU GIRLS SOCCEREvanston847-467-5297northwesterngirlssoccer academy.com

PIVEN THEATER WORKSHOPEvanston

847-866-6597piventheater.org

SECOND CITY SUMMER COMEDY CAMPChicago312-664-3959secondcity.com/training

TAMARAK DAY CAMPLincolnshire847-634-3168tamarakdaycamp.com

TOWERING PINES CAMP FOR BOYSEagle River, Wisc. 847-446-7311toweringpinescamp.com