Galileo Summer Quest- San Carlos

My 6 year old son and soon-​to-​be 1^st grader completed 4 weeks of camp at Camp Galileo. Today, after the final closing ceremony, he asked if he could stay in Camp Galileo all summer next year! He did various Northwest YMCA camps for the other half of summer and though the YMCA camps were fun, he said Camp Galileo was the «funnest» camp. When I asked him what made it fun, he said he gets to build things, paint things, work hard, have fun, and be with his friends (most of which he just met at camp).
The camp staff is excellent! They really make an effort to get to know the kids. They foster a collaborative and supportive environment. My son played basketball with the same staff members (along with a group of boys) all 4 weeks. He seems to have also bonded with his team leaders. My son talks about the games that they play which encourage the kids to meet one another. And according to my son, the staff performs hilarious skits and they have Stephen’s stories during lunchtime. You can tell that the staff puts a lot of love into the weekly themes, costumes, and decorations. Many of the staff members return year after year, which contributes to the tight-​knit feel of this summer camp.
On Fridays, the camp has a closing ceremony where each team performs a song or skit. Then the kids can lead the parents to the Science and Art rooms to show their projects. The Art and Science instructors are available in class to discuss the projects, and you can tell that the kids and instructors are very passionate about the work that they’ve done. In addition to the individual projects, kids also have one or more projects that they build with another kid.
Some of the things that they made are
— Space Odyssey: air rockets, water propulsion rockets, shadow puppets, glow-​in-​the-​dark planets
— African Safari: horns that make realistic elephant sounds, African wall-​hanging batiks, dioramas of the African plains, buzzers that make realistic bee hoard sounds
— Medieval Adventure: catapults, castle with working drawbridge and elevators, chalice, shields, surcoats and sashes
— Amusement Park: skeeball machines, pinball machine, circus train car, acrobat puppet
This week was medieval week and my son pranced around public with the shield that he built in Art. He took it to his sister’s preschool and all the little kids were asking him where he got the shield. He was so proud to say that he designed and built the shield (and all his other Camp G projects) from scratch.

This is a fabulous summer camp! My kids have attended every summer since 2007 and have loved every minute of it. They bug me all fall about when I can enroll them for the next year. The director, a local teacher, is amazing and will be back for his 8^th year at this camp. They learn so much about teamwork, innovation, art, science, and having just plain fun! They love the camp games and outdoor activities. The projects they create and the art they produce is something they can be proud of all year long. The staff are very carefully screened and most return year after year to provide a solid foundation for the kids. We are always amazed all year as things come up and they spout information that they learned from Camp G about various artists, engineering feats and science information. Don’t miss out on this fabulous opportunity for your kids to have a fantastic time while learning so much about art and science… two things we dearly need more of in the schools.