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Move over, macramé and candlemaking—at Innovators camp in Bridgehampton, tech-savvy, wellness-oriented activities prep kids for future glory. BY JULIA SZABO Believing that summer day camp offers a golden opportunity to instill lifelong wellness values, computer programmer Brendan Manley launched Innovators Camp in Bridgehampton, a new learning environment for children age 7 to 14, where the motto is “Make the Future Fun.” “Camp should keep kids engaged and learning,” says Manley, 27, who saw plenty of room for improvement in the camp model of his childhood. “I felt like I was being baby-sat,” he says. “I didn’t get anything from it. Kids have a huge superpower that, as we get older, we lose: They learn so quickly, and this is such a valuable period in their lives. So camp should not be about killing time.” Now a dad of two, Manley sees iCamp as the nontraditional learning lab he craved as a kid: merging the best of camping past and future, with offerings that go far beyond canoeing or candlemaking, with an emphasis on healthy living as the key to professional and personal success. Sharing space with Nova’s Ark Project—a 100-acre home to horses, sheep and monumental bronze sculptures by Nova Mihai Popa, iCamp offers a comprehensive menu of high-tech topics: 3-D modeling and printing, robotics, drones, augmented/virtual re-
iCamp’s founder, Brendan Manley, sees it as a nontraditional learning and wellness lab.
ality, animation and digital design. The curriculum, created by Greg Wilson, Ph.D., head of tech and innovation at the Ross School, is based on STEAM, the synergistic system that cross-pollinates science, technology, engineering. the arts and math. Cutting-edge computer crafts are balanced by drawing, painting, ceramics, metalworking and carpentry. Then it’s back to the future as iCampers undertake an aquaponics project, symbiotically raising blue tilapia and growing vegetables (the garden component is a partnership with the horticulture experts at Water Mill’s own Green Thumb organic farm). Kids and counselors spend at least 188
half of each day outside: “Any activities that can be done outdoors, will be,” Manley promises—with daily doses of yoga, meditation, soccer and badminton, plus guitar and drums. Menu items, made with ingredients harvested from the iCampers’ garden, include tomato, mozzarella and pesto sandwiches, curry wraps, and kale salad with yogurt dressing. To keep things carbon-neutral, meals are enjoyed with reusable plates and utensils, and water comes from pitchers, not plastic bottles. It’s all done with one goal, Manley says: “We want to lay the foundation for our campers to lead healthy lives.” innovatorscamp.com