‘What I Did This Summer’
‘What I Did This Summer’ Specialty Camps Dramatically Increase Summertime Options By LAURA COVERSON
July 9, 2007
Come September, there are likely to be some raised eyebrows among the nation’s schoolteachers when they hear some of the answers to the question, “What did you do this summer?”
“I built a tall ship.” “I made a car.” “I learned how to dust for fingerprints.” “I flew an airplane.” “I swam with dolphins.” “I blew up some stuff.”
This year, 10 million children and 1 million adults are expected to have a “camp experience.” Summer camp is more popular than ever and the options today go far beyond the quintessential sleep-away camp where you learn to canoe, sleep in bunks under the stars and roast lots of marshmallows.
“Today, campers span 3 years to 93 years old. There are family camps, day camps, resident camps, trip and travel camps, special-needs camp and scores of specialty camps,” said Peg Smith, CEO of the American Camp Association.
“More and more kids are going to camp because there are more opportunities,” said Nancy LaPook Diamond, president and founder of NicheDirectories.com, which publishes kidscamps.com, a comprehensive camp guide, as well as camp-related resource guides.
“Your kid doesn’t want to sleep away in the woods? There is likely a day camp in your city. Maybe the child wants the camp bunk experience, but wants to be home on the weekends some camps operate that way,” LaPook Diamond said.
A quick survey of kidscamps.com reveals a smorgasbord of camp experiences including: space camps, Xtreme sports camps, weight loss camps, filmmaking camps, rock ‘n’ roll camps and, even, circus camp for the class clown.
Even so-called “CSI” camps appeared on the scene a few years ago. The Ocean City recreation department in Maryland promises to turn out a crew of summer-camp supersleuths. Youngsters learn about the world of forensics and perform dozens of experiments, search for evidence, learn how to test blood and DNA and “discover how science can help solve a mystery.”
There are camps where children can learn the art of cooking or safely explore the power and makeup of explosives. Summer Explosives Camp is sponsored by the University of Missouri-Rolla, whose engineering school provides professionals to the mining and demolition industries.
Young people can also discover the joys of flying the wild blue yonder, designing clothes or perfecting their singing voices for that next “American Idol” audition.
If a child’s imagination wanders to the world of magic, there are camps for teaching slight of hand.
On Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California, Sea Adventure Camp has participants doing everything from swabbing decks, trimming sails and learning the science of sea navigation aboard the old schooner The American President.
About 24,000 camps in the United States offer a seemingly endless variety of options to suit just about any child or family.
In addition to kidscamps.com, the American Camp Association, which accredits about 12,000 camps, offers resources for finding a camp and evaluating the opportunity for your child.
According to the ACA, the majority of the camps it accredits are nonprofit and are operated by groups like the YMCA, YWCA, Camp Fire USA, Boy Scouts USA, Girl Scouts USA and Woodmen of the World.
Churches and synagogues operate many of the sleep-away, wilderness camps accredited by the ACA. And now there is even a camp for atheists.
Camp Quest in Clarksville, Ohio, calls itself the nation’s first sleep-away camp for atheists. Since Camp Quest’s founding 10 years ago, four other camps for nonbelievers have reportedly been formed. Like most summer camps, the youngsters take part in canoeing, hiking and dining-room duty.
Edward Kagin, who founded Camp Quest, told the Chicago Times, “We wanted a camp, not to preach there is no God, but as a place where children could learn it’s OK not to believe in God.”
Big Business
About 22 percent of summer camps are privately owned, according to the ACA and whether setting up camps for profit or not, business is booming.
“It’s a $20 billion industry a vibrant, growing community, and we’ve experienced incredible growth,” LaPook Diamond said. “From January to June of this year, we’ve had over 4 million visits to the Web site. And these are new people looking for new programs.”
Part of that growth may be attributed to the increasing popularity of upscale summer camps that offer sailing in the Caribbean, wilderness rock climbing or training in how to be a Hollywood stunt actor.
At Camp Echo in upstate New York, eight weeks in the wilderness with activities that include water polo, cooking, lacrosse and photography, reportedly costs more than $8,000 about $1,000 a week.
One thriving company that offers high-end camp experiences features a spa camp. According to MetroParent.com, the Julian Krinsky/Canyon Ranch summer camp in California offers teens classes in relaxation, fitness, meditation and cooking. Massage, facials and personal trainers are available, as well. Weekly tuition is about $1,400.
But these programs for well-heeled families are still not the norm, and the cost of camp does not have to be a barrier to a memorable experience.
“In the past, going away to camp was considered a privileged opportunity,” LaPook Diamond said, “but there are so many different kinds of camps and different price points.”
“There is a camp for everyone,” Smith said. “Ninety percent of camps offer some kind of financial assistance scholarships, payment plans or sliding fee scales.
Camp Appeal
Why does summer camp continue to be such an attractive experience for families and their children?
Smith believes it is, in part, a response to the high tech culture that today’s kids are exposed to. Many of a child’s connections are increasingly “remote” via computer, text message or a MySpace page or his or her free time is often organized down to the nanosecond.
“Camp is a place where kids can experience community in a way that they often can’t where they may live,” Smith said.
“They are not just learning about things through books and videos and television,” she said. “They have primary relationships and primary experiential activities, and those are becoming more in demand as we evolve into a technological society.”
“You are all strangers put together and you come out as a family, feeling connected to camp forever,” said LaPook Diamond, who comes from three generations of campers who spent summers in New York’s Adirondack Mountains.
“You learn to make friends and work together. You learn independence from your parents and interdependence with other kids. Plus, you just have fun!”
Longtime campers Smith and LaPook Diamond also believe the experience goes a long way to shaping character and building the esteem of any awkward children who discover camp to be the first place where they may have to feel part of a group or team.
One of the fastest-growing segments of the summer-camp business is special-needs camps for children with disabilities, such as autism, or with illnesses like diabetes, celiac disease and HIV.
“It is important for children to meet other children in the same situations as they are and for the parents, also and it is in a positive setting, not in a hospital or doctor’s office,” LaPook Diamond said.
Seeing Stars
Smith believes that the wilderness camp experience plays a key role in raising a generation of Americans who will care about the fate of a planet challenged by environmental problems. “These are the young people who will be wrestling with global warming,” Smith said. “We need this young population to not fear the outdoors, and not fear nature, but to embrace it.”
“We have more and more camp directors telling us that they have kids coming to camp today that are seeing the stars for the first time.”
Never too Old for Camp
“I was always kinda sad to hang up my whistle,” said LaPook Diamond, whose camp attendance as a child led to summers as a camp counselor.
Thanks to one of the latest trends in the summer-camp business, she may not have to hang up that whistle.
Baby boomers are clambering for the camp experience and signing up for a growing list of opportunities that feature travel, learning new skills and athletic experiences for grown-ups like sports fantasy camps to channel your inner Tiger Woods or Alex Rodriguez. You can even check out a camp for dogs and their owners at campsfordogs.com.
In 2011, Smith says, the organized camp experience in America will be 150 years old and going strong.
“We never want to be part of American history,” Smith said. “We always want to be part of the American tradition.”
