Traces the development of camper exchange programs between the United States and the Soviet Union; notes differences between Soviet and U.S. residential camps; and discusses the benefits and future of camper exchange programs. Since 1987, 70 U.S. residential camps have hosted Soviet children and hundreds of U.S. campers have attended Soviet camps.…

By interviewing parents and reviewing letters of complaint, Camp Hy-Lake (Tennessee) identified six conditions/outcomes parents expected of a good camp experience. By providing those conditions the camp improved its camper return rate from 60 to 80% in approximately two years and increased camper returns from two to three and a half years. (JHZ)

Profiles Herbert A. Sweet, founder and director of Acorn Farms Day Camp (Indiana) for 44 years. Includes reminiscences about the camp's program, staffing, food, World War II, affiliation with the American Camping Association, and camps/directors of today. (NEC)

Describes the four-day resident Mother-Child Camp of the Portland (Oregon) YWCA for mothers and children from the age of two and one-half and up. Outlines purposes, daily schedule, costs, staffing, and indicates special considerations to accommodate needs of young children. (NEC)

Describes a resident camp program designed to teach girls ages 10-12 about photography. Goals of the one-week program included developing an eye for potential photographs; learning how to use cameras and equipment; and learning photography principles that produce quality pictures. Includes photography activities and projects. (LP)

A Jewish camp in Michigan hosted more than 300 Israeli teens during its 2002 camping season. American and Israeli campers lived in the same cabins so they could learn about each other's culture and develop friendships. To make the visitors welcome, informational brochures sent to Israeli families were translated into Hebrew, and area families…

Describes why lake hikes practiced at Girl Scout Camp Bonnie Brae (Massachusetts) are an ideal camp activity to teach aquatic ecology and engage the senses. Discusses program benefits: camper/counselor interaction, personal and group challenge, and conflict resolution. (NEC)

To complement its outdoor physical activities, a New York day camp offered a visual media class. During the 6-day program, campers agreed on the theme of the video and which locations would be used, shot and edited the video, and made copies for each participant. As campers came to understand what the program was about, attendance increased. (TD)

To determine the nature of camp for senior citizens, four participant observers (staff members) conducted open-ended interviews with campers at a five-day residential camp in Oregon. Results showed universal satisfaction with the camp experience. Campers valued the wide range of activities, comfortable places to socialize, and staff relations with…

Blue Star Camps (Hendersonville, North Carolina) used talents of an internationally known architectural artist to emphasize a world peace dimension in their 1985 eight-week coed summer program. Past creative programs have included mock United Nations sessions, mock presidential conventions/elections, lunar landing salute, bicentennial celebration,…

Describes nine-day residential camp for Michigan teenage mothers/babies to enhance personal growth and develop responsible social skills. Outlines goals, pre-camp planning, staff, activities, evaluation. Reports 31 teen moms (ages 13-21) and 35 babies attended in 1986. Indicates participants were in therapy, experienced abuse, had low self-esteem,…

Camp Kingsmont, a weight reduction and fitness facility for boys and girls located near West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, traditionally celebrates International Day each July. Campers design costumes, prepare native dances and songs, enjoy an outdoor feast, stage an "International Beautyless Contest," and gather around a bonfire to view a…

A day-by-day account describes Camp Greentop's first 5-day adventure camping trip, which was attended by five individuals with disabilities and their counselors. The first day was spent in games and initiatives designed to develop communication, teamwork, and dependability. Other days were devoted to hiking, rock climbing, and whitewater rafting.…

Describes how a farm program might assist any camp to offer experiential educational opportunities, improve attitudes toward food/nutrition, expand interpersonal relationships, develop work values and responsibility, teach history of food production/hunger. Details program goals, seasonal agricultural work, staffing, tools/equipment, daily…

A survey of 1,293 camps with boating programs examined affiliation and type of camp, water sites used, boating programs and participants, boats used, instructor training, and number of boating accidents. Most camps indicated a need for curriculum materials, particularly instructor materials. (LP)