The average daily amount of physical activity (PA) expended by children in summer camp is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the trends in PA and sedentary behavior in school-aged summer campers during an outdoor adventure summer camp. Participants were a convenience sample of school-aged children (N = 183; 102 males and 81…

Summer camp jobs are often described as a fun and active way to spend the summer. This research aims to go beyond the surface, examining how college students use the skills and training they receive as summer day camp counselors and describing the specific ways they transfer those skills to academic settings. In-depth interviews were conducted…

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of an immersive learning (IL) course in which university students planned, developed, and implemented a 2-week day camp for children with disabilities. To assess perceptions and associated dispositional constructs, university students completed reflection activities before, during, and post camp…

The camp community understands that participation in camp produces a variety of impacts; what is less understood are the causal mechanisms leading to outcomes. In the past, research on the camp experience treated causal mechanisms as monolithic; this commentary argues that a weakness in existing camp research is the assumption that…

We explored the impact of a daytrip for children aged 10-13 (n = 40) to assess perception of nature. Those who perceived risk in nature were 11.25 times more likely to indicate disinterest in spending time outdoors. Those interested in spending time outdoors were 6.9 times more likely to think people should care more about the environment.…

The 'Structured Days Hypothesis' suggests that children's obesogenic behaviors (e.g., activity, diet, sleep, and screen time) are less favorable during times when there is less-structure to a child's day (e.g., summer). To compare obesogenic behaviors of children with developmental disabilities (DD) during summer on days with differing amounts of…

Regular physical activity significantly improves health outcomes, yet rates of childhood physical activity remain alarmingly low. Physical literacy has been identified as the foundation for quality physical education, suggesting that sport, education, and public health interventions should seek to increase physical literacy to promote physical…

Summer camps are an $18 billion industry while providing over 14,000 individual programs in the United States in 2015. Camp counselors, like other outdoor workers, are at risk of occupational solar exposure. Occupational solar exposure increases an individual's lifetime accumulation of solar radiation, leading to skin damage and higher rates of…

With handwriting being limitedly taught in schools; high intensity, summer handwriting camps may resolve the numerous handwriting rehabilitation referrals of school-aged children. To improve handwriting, a 5-day (3-hr/daily session) summer camp was created for children (ages 5-9 years old). Thirty children (ages 5-9) were given manuscript…

The Oregon Writing Project Curriculum Camp provides spaces where teachers can work together to grow their own curriculum about issues that matter to their communities, from gentrification to high school student activism to Mexican immigration. The Curriculum Camp supports teachers to become activists who develop lessons that help their students…

Spatial visualization and mental rotations skills are considered a strong predictor of success in STEM fields (Wai, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2009). This study analyzed the malleability and amount of change in fourth through sixth grade students using the Revised PSVT:R. Participants engaged in a STEM camp driven by maker pedagogy and focused on the…

The current research sought to examine the impact of a week-long mathematics camp on motivation and self-efficacy beliefs of participating middle school students. Middle school students participated in a one-week mathematics camp on a college campus, where they worked on authentic mathematics activities that were applied to real world concepts.…

In this exploratory study, we looked at the effect adding a choreographed song to camp had on middle-school aged campers' retention of two concepts: order of the planets with increasing distance from the Sun, and phases of the Moon listed in the correct order. We conducted pre- and post-assessments on these questions for multiple years of the…

Physical educators seek ways to motivate students to engage in lifelong physical activity. Research demonstrates that autonomy-supportive climates improve motor skills and competence in children. Although substantial research exists on the benefits of autonomy-supportive climates on children's motor skills, little is known regarding the…

Museum camps are a popular option over school vacation, but they are not always accessible to families who lack transportation and live far from the institution. This article presents an alternative format for camp: running a museum camp from within a neighborhood public school. Collaboration with school staff and community members is a key to…