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April 8, 2006 Camp Galileo: A Summer for Discovery and Experiment by Claire Isaacs Wahrhaftig This summer, a new opportunity for alternative education and recreation is being offered to Rockridge children. Camp Galileo, a summer day-camp named after the great scientist, intellectual explorer, and creative thinker, will operate for the first time for five weeks at Holy Names school. Camp Galileo has been operating in San Francisco and the Peninsula since 2002, under the direction of Galileo Educational Services founder and CEO Glen Tripp. Its mission is to help children discover their passion through teamwork, leadership development and hands-on exploration of art and science. In 2002, Rockridge resident Tripp stepped down as President of the Rockridge Community Planning Council in order to devote time to his dream: establishing an alternative program of exploration for children. At present, Camp Galileo operates at 12 other sites in San Francisco, the Peninsula and the East Bay. About 10,000 children, grades K through 5, are enrolled each summer. The Oakland/Rockridge site has a capacity for 300. Tripp's interest in alternative education began two years after college, when he started a job with Score Education Center, a national after-school education program. From then on, his undergraduate degree interests in economics and international relations took a major turn towards education: he discovered a huge need for children to "get stuff they don't get in school." Today's parents want to see their kids involved in hands-on education, he said. School is so heavily weighted towards training for testing that there is little time for creativity and problem solving. Camp Galileo offers daily experiences for children in the age groups of kindergarten, Grades 1 and 2, and 3 to 5 in art, science, and outdoor activities. Each week, all age groups undertake "theme" activities in art, science and outdoor activities appropriate to their age group. For example, during "Psychedelic '60s and Space Explorers" week, grades 1 and 2 make tie-dye shirts and "lava" lamps, and create Warhol-style self-portraits. As space explorers, they build a space ship, analyze rocket fuels, design for maximum lift-off and landing impact, and test Newton's law of gravity. Other themes include Egyptian art, crime solving, amusement park engineering, and designing psychedelic '60s album covers and a concert poster. To build a solid base for these activities, the camp has developed curriculum partnerships with the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose; Klutz, a division of Scholastic; and Art in Action. The camp's mission is to help kids discover their passion. Educators emphasize team building and leadership. One counselor is in charge of a group of 16, who then break into teams of two to four for each project. Outdoor activities offer challenges but are not competition-oriented. Another goal is to demonstrate that creativity applies not only to the arts, but includes the sciences and activities in general. Kids discover that art and science are not so far apart. The camp is proud that it enrolls about 45% girls, compared to many science and computer camps which enroll mostly boys. This is particularly of interest in view of last year's controversial remarks by Harvard University Professor Lawrence Summers that fewer women become scientists due to genetic causes. The director of Camp Galileo for Oakland/ Rockridge is Beth Sondel, who received her graduate degree from Harvard in Education Policy and Management. The local Advisory Board includes professionals and parents. Tripp says Camp Galileo started in Palo Alto because he had taught there and had a base of advisors there. A parent himself, he is truly pleased to at last open the camp in his own neighborhood - Rockridge - and hopes parents will take advantage of this unusual opportunity. Press Contact: |
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