Science, Art and Fun at Camp Galileo

Like many parents in Marin and the Bay Area, I'm always looking for summer activities for my children that are not only fun but educational as well. This summer, my eight-year-old son attended Camp Galileo day camp at their Marin location at the beautiful Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera. Camp Galileo offers campers hands-on art, science and outdoor activities as well as fun camp traditions like dress-up day, water day, and the rubber chicken cheer. Furthermore, Camp Galileo boasts impressive curriculum partners, including the de Young Museum, the Tech Museum, and Klutz.

My son was a member of Camp Galileo's Supernovas group—comprising children entering third, fourth, and fifth grades. The camp theme during the week he attended was Detective in Paris: Impressionism & the Science of Sleuthing. In this adventure centered around a fictitious 19th-century art theft, campers explored Impressionist art and used science to try to find the culprit behind the heist. Camp Galileo offers a unique approach that teaches children to be innovators. Campers learn to innovate, collaborate, identify their goals and audiences, generate ideas, and be creative.

Overall, we thought Camp Galileo was an outstanding summer camp experience. My son absolutely loved the camp staff, and they really seemed to care about him too. Staff were upbeat and positive and instilled that enthusiasm in the campers. We also thought that the camp's projects were well thought-out, challenging, and motivating. With a small staff-to-camper ratio, I also felt that Camp Galileo offered an extremely safe and secure environment for the children.

When I asked my son which part of the camp he loved the best, he said "I loved everything about it!" When we asked him to get a little more specific, he revealed that his favorite part of the camp was constructing booby traps to trip up art thieves and designing a grappling hook and launcher. I loved the amazing artwork that he brought home, including a painting of the Eiffel Tower and a wonderful print he made using felt cut-outs as printing plates. My favorite part of the camp was the final Friday, when parents got to visit and enjoy a show of campers' artwork and science projects, talk with camp staff about what happened during the week, and watch the campers do their group cheer. At the closing ceremony on Friday, campers get their official Camp Galileo T-shirts—it's the only shirt my son wants to wear right now!

My son also had a lot of fun participating in Camp Galileo's activities, games, and ceremonies. He really enjoyed his experience there and was just bubbling over with excitement and enthusiasm every day at pick-up time. All in all, Camp Galileo is a summer experience we can highly recommend.

Camp Galileo's Marin County programs take place at Marin Country Day School, located at 5221 Paradise Drive in Corte Madera. Their next session is themed Lost in the Forbidden City, and takes place August 1–5. Camp Galileo also holds sessions in the East Bay, San Francisco, Peninsula, and San Jose area. Camp Galileo programs are for children entering pre-K to fifth grade. They also offer Galileo Summer Quest for students in fifth though eight grades.

For complete details on Camp Galileo's camp programs, fees, locations, and schedules, visit www.galileo-learning.com.

Note: My son's week at Camp Galileo was provided to us for free for review purposes, however, all opinions expressed are our own.