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Ask Slashdot: Setting Up a Summer Camp Tech Center?

Posted by timothy on from the wish-I-was-the-right-age dept.

First time accepted submitter michaelknauf writes "I'm running a large summer camp that's primarily concerned with performing arts: music, dance, circus, magic, theater, art, and I want to add some more tech into the program. We already do some iOS game design with Stencyl. We also have an extensive model railroad and remote control car program and a pretty big computer lab (about 100 Apple machines). Our program provides all materials as part of tuition, so I've stayed away from robotics as a matter of cost, but I'd love to buy a 3D printer and do classes with that and the Arduino is cheap enough to make some small electronics projects sensible... where do I find the sort of people who could teach such a program as a summer gig? What projects make sense without spending too much cash on a per project basis but would be cool fun for kids and would teach them?"

5 of 49 comments (clear)

  1. Screw tech. by mbstone · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The little bastards already spend too much time hunched over keyboards and phones as it is. Get them outside. They'll have their whole lives to spend in cubes.

    1. Re:Screw tech. by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The little bastards already spend too much time hunched over keyboards and phones as it is. Get them outside. They'll have their whole lives to spend in cubes.

      Why is it that every time there is a discussion about teaching tech to kids, some goober makes the point that since kids shouldn't be spending 100% of their time on tech, therefore they should be spending 0% on it, and we shouldn't even be discussing it?

      Nobody is saying that they will spend 100% of their time on tech. Summer camps have plenty of physical activities. Most likely there is already a block of time set aside for "computer skills", and the submitter is just looking for the best way to fill that time rather than just leaving the kids to update their Facebook profiles.

  2. you should consider leaving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    find a job/calling that suits you

    allow the camp to flourish under a person who embraces it for what it is

    maybe return as a camper one day

    1. Re:you should consider leaving by kannibal_klown · · Score: 1, Insightful

      My first inclination was to say "what a jerk" to the above poster, but after RE-reading the summary... he's right.

      If the camp is going to be about the arts, let it stay that way. I can understand maybe infusing a little bit of tech here or there, like doing "something" with the pottery classes or something with the model train set. But nothing so far as getting an expensive 3D printer or anything like that.

      But too much tech isn't really in the spirit of it. There are IT / tech / computer CAMPS specifically for that kind of stuff.

  3. Makes no sense... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You're an arts summer camp... why are you making it tech?

    Video editing and post-production
    Audio/video encoding
    Posting stuff online (though you kids probably know more about this than you already)
    Sound composition
    Lighting controls
    Animation

    I parents wanted their kids to go to tech camp, they would send them to tech camp.