Artificial intelligence, large language models and more are all the rage now. New tools, new processes, new workflows. AI at summer camp is going to be a real thing.
Director Kate has used Claude and Gemini to develop a new bunk log system that will both improve the info we get from our staff each night (still no screens in the bunks!) and for us to review. We’ve updated our menu, created new guidebooks for staff, improved our inventory controls and more.
I’m sure we are barely scratching the surface of what this new set of tools can do for us. Use cases abound, even at camp in the Pocono Mountains. AI can certainly help summer camp.
However, artificial intelligence is not even close to the most important AI at Camp Weequahic. Here are the top 5 most important AIs for camp… at least at Camp Weequahic!
Authentic Inclusion: Building Friendships at Camp
This is what we all want, isn’t it? To find our group, to be accepted for who we are now and who we are becoming. At Weequahic, we build connections before camp starts with our Pen Pal program. New campers are bunked with other new kids their same age. New kids start building friends quickly thru the activities they’ve chosen together. All of this is done under the watchful eyes of our selectively chosen and personally trained staff. Camp begins and ends with community which is why this AI is number one!
Active Interaction: Getting Kids Off Screens
At Weequahic, we move and play and create with no phones, social media or comparison. Campers interact with each other and our staff and enjoy spontaneity like nowhere else in their lives. (There is a great podcast on those two points with Jeff Leiken.) From the time campers wake up until their close their eyes to dream about the next day, they are actively interacting all over camp.
Attitude Influence: Teaching Kids How to React
Camp is the perfect place to realize that we control our response to actions… and to practice that control. Without the dopamine rush of video games and the phone, our kids have more control over their nervous system and their emotions. With those near-peer counselors modeling the behaviors and responses we want, campers’ attitudes are changed for the better.
Audacious Independence: Building Independence in Kids
Parents want to protect their kids. We have three of them – we get it! The idea of shipping them off to camp is a scary one, especially if you’ve not done it yourself. (More than half of our families have no ‘summer camp’ experience.)
Camp is the perfect place for kids – and parents – to build what feels like audacious independence. They pick what they get, choose their programs, solve their problems, and more. Of course, all of this is in a supportive environment that keeps everyone safe… while allowing kids to expand their comfort zones. This broadens their world, brings happiness and builds confidence. It’s among the great benefits of summer camp.
Always Improving: One Idea at a Time
This one may be for us. We can’t help it – we are competitive with ourselves. This will include new tools like artificial intelligence as well as a lot of old tools: books, paper and pencil, a phone and a whole lot of conversations. Whether we improve how we train our team, the offerings at camp, the message at campfire, the activities… camp should always be improving while keeping the core – the continued growth of our kids and staff – of utmost importance.
So, there you have it. Five AIs that are a lot more important than artificial intelligence at camp. Do you agree? Disagree? What did I miss? Happy to go ‘old school’ and talk about it any time.
Until then, have a great weekend and may Spring start quickly. The faster it gets here, the faster we’ll all be back together again at camp!
