The most unusual children's camps in the world are waiting for guests
All children's camps are meant to occupy, and if possible, teach children something in the summer. They are all different, just like schools and institutes. Some focus on the educational program – a kind of continuation of school activities with excursions, after-school programs, and entertainment events. Others devote most of the time to physical training and development of sports skills, while in others children are taught foreign languages in an entertaining way.
Learn, learn, and learn again
Do you think your child does not spend enough time on school lessons? Or, on the contrary, can't tear him away from textbooks and tests? Then you should take a closer look at summer camps where the main focus is on studying.
For example, the American summer school BizSmart. In the camp, organized with the support of Stanford University, teenagers learn business, finance, and document management. The best students are offered internships at companies such as Microsoft or Google.
The United Nations also has its own international camp. Here, the younger generation is taught the basics of global diplomacy. Teenagers attend lectures by professors from leading universities, former Peace Corps volunteers (a humanitarian organization that helps countries in need), and UN staff.
A child dreaming of becoming an astronaut can be sent to NASA's camp, located in the US state of Alabama. Here, future space explorers can interact with real astronauts, scientists, and technical specialists. In addition, great attention is paid to physical training.
There is a similar, albeit not as large-scale, project in Russia. In the children's space training camp 'Shumgam' located in the Leningrad region, the younger generation is taught astronomy, cosmonautics, and the basics of piloting aircraft. Physical training includes activities on a climbing wall, as well as on the 'Lunar Gravity' and 'Centrifuge' simulators.
Other summer educational events for children are also held in Russia. The largest of them, perhaps, is the 'Summer School'. In July-August, it gathers more than a thousand participants. Mostly these are university students, but there are also several programs for schoolchildren. For example, departments of journalism, medicine, psychology, social sciences, natural sciences, as well as the geographical workshop 'Geo-Geo'.
Don't talk. Do squats until you drop
There are even more children's camps focused on physical training than educational ones. Many sports clubs take their young trainees out of town every summer, where children continue to train. However, they usually take only club members. But there are exceptions.
For example, the football camps of Real Madrid or Barcelona, which accept children from 6 to 18 years old regardless of gender. In addition to football training, they offer language courses and organize excursions to Spanish landmarks. The cost of a two-week session in these projects starts from two thousand dollars.
In Missouri, a demolition camp is organized annually for teenagers. Children are taught how to handle explosives, explaining, of course, how not to get hurt themselves.
Summer, sea, beach
But there are most of all recreational children's camps. Here they don't force you to participate in exhausting workouts or sit for hours at desks in math or physics lessons. The main focus is on teenagers' leisure.
The Chinese camp 360 Student Travel offers dozens of excursions and entertainment trips. In just a few weeks, children will be able to visit the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, and Tiananmen Square. At the camp, children will learn rock climbing, rafting, calligraphy, ancient dances, and martial arts. But the most interesting thing is interacting with pandas. There is a nursery on the camp grounds, and children become volunteers for the session, who are supposed to feed the animals and take care of them. The only thing that bothers is the price of such a vacation – for a month of living with pandas, you will have to pay about 6.1 thousand dollars.
At the shark camp in Fiji, children are taught diving and allowed to swim under the supervision of instructors in waters where sharks live. The project is considered one of the preparation programs for admission to various specialized colleges, but they try not to overload children with studies. The main thing is the warm sea and bright sun.
A little exotic
You can introduce your child to the communist system, and also to Asia, at the international summer camp 'Songdowon' located near the North Korean city of Wonsan. Since the 1960s, it has been receiving guests from friendly countries. Children are offered several excursions, including to Seoul, swimming in the East Sea, and various interest clubs. The price is only 200 euros, but about another thousand will go for the flight to North Korea and a tourist visa.
If you prefer bourgeois comfort, you can send your child to a camp on Lake Rocket in New York State. Here, children are provided with sports equipment that only Olympic champions can boast of, and are taught canoeing. The camp territory is guarded. The camp's theater troupe is supervised by Broadway stars. In the evenings, of course, discos – popular performers are in charge of the music. Children live in comfortable rooms and are fed by famous chefs. Each child is assigned a personal assistant and supervisor.
The cost of such a vacation is discussed individually with each candidate and is not publicly disclosed, but it is known that the minimum price for a month at the camp is 12 thousand dollars.