Congo Camp 2010

The waterpark our Water Adventure campers will be enjoying today.

Two travel camps happening this session are Science Seekers and Water Adventures.  These two camps have very unique weeks lined.

Science Seekers will be exploring the world of science by venturing out to various locations in the DC Metro Area.  Today, they will be enjoying the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, while yesterday they started off the week at the Reston Zoo.

As they seeked out science, the Water Adventurers seeked out water.  To start off the session by going to the Atlantis Water Park, while today they are enjoying the Upton Hill Water Park today.

We hope these travel camps enjoy their various adventures this week!

One of our many wonderful horses.

Our Pony Adventure campers are enjoying a wonderful session of riding, grooming, petting, and feeding the wonderful horses that have kept campers and counselors happy all summer.

The campers have been continuing to practice the skills that many of them learned at day camp this summer and are picking up new skills that will help them to be better riders.

All of the Pony Adventure campers love getting to be around the horses during the camp day and we are excited to see them continue to ride throughout the session!

Extra cheesy Mac and Cheese.

The Congo Chefs Challenge campers made a midmorning meal to test just how cheesy they could make Mac and Cheese. 

Well, needless to say, they were able to master mac and cheese by blending in multiple cheeses.  After cooking the pasta, they then added the cheese and prepped the food for baking.

Once it was pulled out of the oven, the campers had the chance to enjoy this delicious, gooey treat.  The cheese clinged onto the pasta and our Congo Chefs cheese-craving was sated.

These campers will be taking a trip to the grocery store this week and then, as none have forgotten, they will be having a cupcake challenge on Friday. 

One of our Colonial Kids camper's candles.

When we think of colonial times, we remember how our forefathers and foremothers lacked home electricity.  So, of course, the campers had to make candles.

The campers had fun making these candles from pieces of honeycomb-style wax.  Our campers' candles were excellent and they will definitely keep our campers' houses well-lit if the lights ever go out. 

As the session continues, these campers will get to enjoy a wonderful overnight trip to Colonial Williamsburg.  We hope they have fun as they make their way down there tomorrow!

The gas station and car shop for the lego city.

The Lego World: City campers have been enjoying constructing the various lego sets this beginning week of the session.

They started out by making the most important part of any city: the gas station.  Once they completed the gas station, they moved on to an airport, a windmill, and other city sites.

All of the campers have been active in ensuring that all the parts click together well and properly and they are extremely energetic to complete all of the city models.

We will continue to share pictures of the various parts of the city and, once it is completed, we will be sharing pictures of the completed Lego City.

A Skateboard Camper showing off her skateboard.

The Skateboarding campers all have a board that they love to show off.  These skateboards all have a design on the back of them that represent the particular boarder's personality.

Within only a day and a half, these campers have already practiced on the half pipe and mastered how to flip the board with their feet.

As you walk by these skateboarders, you can see the excitement and energy they have for the sport and we enjoy seeing them practice all of the skills they have learned thus far.

A camper enjoying the ride down after making it to the top of the rock wall.

The Ropes Adventure Campers were climbing the wall this morning.  After a summer of day camp, many of these adventurers have honed there skills and can make it up the wall with ease.

Many of the campers are able to rock the difficult side of the wall without having to worry themselves when they get to the ledges. 

They will continue practicing on all of the obstacles over the course of the week and we look forward to seeing them as they fly down the zip line!

One of the campers paintings.

In Media Mania, the campers started to learn about texture by using leafs.  To complete this process, the campers first had to find leaves.

Once they selected their leaves, they put paint onto them.  After they painted the leaf, they pressed it against white paper and created designs. 

To complete their paintings the campers selected an animal to focus on in the center of the image and then have various leaf impressions surrounding it.

All of the campers were enthralled with this medium and we enjoyed seeing the various artistic productions they made!

Each chef liked the delicious and sweet tasting pizza and were anxious to eat their own self-made pizza as it cooked in the oven.

Later this afternoon, the campers will be making Macadamia Nut Pancakes and everyone is ready to smell the sweet cakes being made!

Campers practicing various Magic Tricks!

Some of our campers are learning the tricks of the trade in Magic Experience camp.  This camp is to help campers learn how to properly do magic tricks and present themselves as magicians.

Today, they started by practicing some of the "Guess Your Card" tricks that many of us have participated in before.  Then, they moved on to a more complicated trick of moving a straw without touching it.

They keep their secrets tightly sealed, though, and we wish them luck as they continue to learn and hone in on these various tricks!

Soccer Pros on the practice field.

The Soccer Pros have started their week by jumping right into various games and activities that relate directly to soccer.

Soccer campers were ready to get started this morning by practicing drills to ensure that they are properly kicking, passing, and protecting the ball.

We hope these campers are having a good time on the first day of this session and we wish them good luck throughout the week!

The sauted vegetables made by our Chefs.

For our Congo Chefs Challenge campers, before they start to compete, they are learning how to properly cook various meats and vegetables.

They started this morning by learning how to broil steak.  Once they broiled this steak, they then enjoyed the delicious final product.

After they made the steak, the campers then enjoyed some sauted vegetables.  It took no persuading to get these campers to eat their veggies.

The campers are looking forward to this Friday when they have the cupcake challenge.  We know we will be smelling sweet aromas coming from the room over the course of the week!

One of our campers making their way around the world.

Today, in Ropes, the campers started off the session by doing "around the worlds" in the PB Pit.  To do these, one makes a full circle on the PB Pit Ropes circling the Pit.

Only one of our campers had an accidental spill into the pit as they made their way around the world.  It was quite thrilling to watch these campers show just how much strength they have to hold onto the rope.

The Ropes' counselors will be ensuring that our campers get time on all of the Ropes' obstacles.  Good luck on the course this week, campers.

A few of the mural replicas created by our Media Mania campers.

Media Mania is an arts and crafts based camp that helps our campers to learn the various mediums one can use to create art.

The counselors are helping our campers to learn the tools that artists use to make their creations.  Today they focused on chalk murals. 

These murals were based off Diego Rivera's style used in Mexican murals.  We are excited to see all the forms and mediums that these campers use over the next week!