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July 31, 2004 Camps can give kids an edge By Will Oremus Parents just hate to see their kids sitting around playing video games and watching movies all summer. Mona Schorow of San Jose said she has to limit the time her son Marcus, 9, can spend in front of his Nintendo GameCube. But sitting around programming video games and editing movies? That's a different matter. Friday before last, Marcus' week at an internalDrive Tech Camp at Stanford University culminated with his group's presentation of a digital movie-making project, and Mom couldn't have been more proud. ``It was very well-done -- the technological effects really complemented the whole theme and story,'' she said. ``I expected more horsey-ducky kind of stuff.'' In Silicon Valley, where the value of creativity and technological savvy can be measured in the billions of dollars, a growing number of parents are turning to high-end summer camps to stimulate their kids' brains while teaching them marketable skills. From roller coaster physics at San Jose's Tech Museum of Innovation to Java computer programming at Stanford, there is no shortage of Bay Area programs geared toward tech-oriented kids. One of the most successful -- and pricey -- is run by internalDrive, a Campbell-based start-up founded by a brother-sister team of Los Gatos High School alums. Alexa and Pete Ingram-Cauchi started the camps six years ago with a few hundred kids; this year there are 35 iD Tech Camps across 17 states -- and one in Spain -- with a total of 9,000 students. Parents pay $639 to $989 to send their children to one-week sessions on topics such as robotics, Web design or digital music-making. Alexa Ingram-Cauchi said many parents are driven ``to give their kids that competitive edge'' in technical fields. While many academically focused camps can seem like work to kids, tech camp is ``all play,'' Schorow said. She sent her son to both the iD camp and a robotics camp at the Tech, which espouses a similar hands-on philosophy. The Tech's camp is run by Galileo, which also offers the Stanford-based Sally Ride Science Camp for middle school girls. The museum's camp presents kids with design challenges that have to be solved with physics, engineering or programming skills. Students learn the physics of curveballs, then try to throw them; they learn about gear ratios, then build vehicles and enter them in a ``slowest car'' race. Bridget Rigby, director of the tech camps and the Sally Ride camp, said science camps have been around a long time but have historically been too narrowly focused -- some might say nerdy -- to attract the average kid. Camps like hers and the iD tech camps hire counselors who are not just book-smart but diverse and dynamic. That's the key to the camps' rapid growth, Rigby said. Like iD, Galileo has seen its enrollment balloon during the past few years, from several hundred to more than 2,000. ``It's definitely becoming more mainstream, and we see more girls being involved in areas that typically are male-dominated,'' she said. ``We had an entire LEGO robotics class that was offered just for girls.'' On a recent Thursday morning at the iD tech camp, 14-year-old Jessica Poon put the finishing touches on a robot programmed to pick up a cup. Jessica, who will enter Morgan Hill's Live Oak High School in the fall and hopes to be an engineer, said the camp taught her the basics of computer programming without making it feel like work. The instructors have a good time, too, said JV Gravy, better known outside the camp as Javi Martinez-Ogawa of Santa Monica. Martinez- Ogawa, 23, began working as a counselor at iD Tech Camps five years ago when he was still in college, and this summer he begged off from his day job as a TV weather producer to spend one season with the kids. Despite their broadening appeal, the camps aren't for everyone, partly because of the hefty price tag. The Tech's camp runs about $500 for a week of day camp, or 30 hours' worth of instruction; the Sally Ride camp and Education Unlimited's computer programming camps charge upward of $1,000 for a week of overnight camp at Stanford. Both Galileo and iD partner with organizations to offer some full scholarships to families who can't afford the bill. There also may be hidden costs: Kids can get addicted to the high-powered technology. When Marcus Schorow started attending the iD tech camp, he was content to edit videos with the Apple iMovie software that comes standard with any Macintosh computer. Now, he's on to Final Cut Pro HD, a program with a list price of $999. Mona Schorow expects to be begged for the software and a chance to return for another of the weeklong camp sessions, which run through Aug. 20. She said she's willing to pay to see the sparkle in Marcus' eyes when he talks about the projects he's working on and the friends he's made. Besides, she said, with all the skills he's mastering, ``Maybe next year he'll earn all that money back.'' For more information, visit www.galileoed.com or call (800) 854-3684. Press Contact: |
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