Well we just wrapped another great summer at CADC! We expanded programming to ensure that 96 campers would gain new skills, build strong relationships, and increase confidence in their own abilities. Focused around the theme, “The Earth and Its Neighbors,” CADC’s 2016 offerings included art, nature-based explorations of space concepts and structured STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) activities that promoted campers’ problem solving, collaboration, and executive functioning skills. Under the leadership of a designated program specialist and in collaboration with a Museum of Science staff member, CADC piloted a Museum of Science STEM curriculum focused on engineering.
Campers worked in teams to solve real life engineering problems related to the environment, climate change, and international development. Over six, hour-long sessions, campers worked to design and build an avalanche protection system that would protect an entire community in Peru. Campers kept journals about what they were learning and how they might on improve their project, reflecting on the product and process of their work. Our STEM curriculum also included two trips to the MIT Lego Lab where campers were able to exercise their new design skills by planning and building Lego structures.
Campers enjoyed physical challenges including new opportunities for tennis lessons at the Cambridge Tennis Club; indoor rock climbing at Metro Rock in Everett, MA; Parkour; and a second year of workshops with Metro Lacrosse. These activities combined with swimming lessons, beach trips, and hikes in the Greater Boston area kept our campers engaged and active. A newly implemented Natue Club program, run in conjunction with Farrington Nature Linc, offered campers unique opportunities to blend their interests in art, sports, or cooking with nature-based activities. The Adventurers climbed and built forts; the Cooks and Farmers cared for the animals and made snacks from the garden; and the Art-In-Nature group created nature-themed comic books based on their observations in the woods. Campers reveled in these new experiences. As one parent wrote, “My son always came home with a new story or experience that he had.”
Field trips to beaches, pools, and ponds were especially important to the success of camp this summer. Campers swam at beaches throughout Greater Boston, and took advantage of opportunities to hike at Breakheart Reservation and Hopkinton State Park. Weekly swim lessons, supplemented with afternoon trips to a community pool, increased our campers’ overall confidence in the water.
We can't wait till winter is over as we start planning another stellar summer at CADC in 2017!