Dreaming of summer camp this winter? Let your dreams become reality as summer camp registration is now open!
Take a glimpse into the world of one our most beloved camp counselors and previous Assistant Camp Director, Cat Scanlan, as she reflects on the meaning of camp.
Walk by any summer camp and you will find camp counselors wearing knee high socks, torn up gym shoes and shorts that go past their belly buttons. You’ll see campers in white shirts covered in dirt and sticky fingers from ooey, gooey s’mores. They are probably sitting around a campfire, the smell of burnt wood in the air and you can hear laughter and songs. Those magical moments of sticky fingers and laughter make great stories, but for those of us who experienced summer camp, we know those moments are so much more.
Whether you love science, horses, or swimming, adventure summer camp in Colorado is a place where you can do something you love with open and like-minded people. Summer camp can be a learning experience — leaving home, meeting new people, doing things you wouldn’t normally do. However, with these experiences, you stretch your comfort zone and gain confidence in facing new challenges. With the help of counselors and staff, you begin to shape yourself into a dynamic, healthy human being.
I was ten years old the first time that my parents sent me to Keystone Science School in Keystone, Colorado. I was very scared and shy and didn’t truly know how to talk to people. All I wanted to do was go home. But then I met Kyle. My first night at overnight summer camp, people were singing and laughing around the campfire and I remember sitting on the bench thinking about how much I didn’t want to be there. Then a stick appeared in front of my face with two marshmallows on the end and I heard a friendly voice saying, “You want an awesome summer camp treat?” In this moment I knew that someone at overnight camp cared about me. Kyle — one of the greatest counselors and friends I’ll ever know — helped me open up, introduced me to new friends and helped me realize that it’s okay to be yourself at summer camp.
Thirteen years later, I am the Assistant Director of that very same summer camp. With a simple s’more, Kyle changed my entire perspective. I learned that it was okay to be my silly, goofy self and over the years my camp confidence has spread into my entire life. Those brief but significant moments that happen at summer camp can’t really be explained. It’s a feeling. When I close my eyes, take a deep breath in and remember the smell of the campfire and the taste of that s’more, in that instant I’m also remembering how I became a stronger and more independent person.
Summer camp at Keystone Science School has impacted my life and I wake up every morning inspired to give every child a summer camp experience like mine. The power of a single day camp or a week-long backpacking trip in the mountains can change a child’s life. It is from these adventures, camping in the mountains or horseback riding through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, that transforms our children into future leaders. At the Keystone Science School, summer camp is more than a week away from home; it is a week that creates everlasting memories, encourages personal growth and inspires kids to be adventurous and curious.
Keystone Science School is a place I call home. Today we welcome kids from Summit County, the Denver area, all around Colorado and across the United States. Our beautiful campus is nestled in Keystone, Colorado, located near Breckenridge, Colorado, and is merely a one-and-a-half-hour drive for Denver residents. Our summer camp offerings range from day camps, overnight camps, backpacking camps and so much more. Kids in kindergarten through twelfth grade can find their perfect adventure at the Keystone Science School. Each camp program is unique, age-appropriate and filled with Science. Adventure. FUN!
Every child deserves summer camp in Colorado, if only for that one moment where they can meet their Kyle and have someone show them all that they truly can be.
Join us for the Summer of Imagination 2017 where you can witness the magic of camp. Register online or call us at 970-455-4228 to sign up for the true camp experience.
Blog written by Cat Scanlan
