The Purpose of a Campfire

At Keystone Science School, we believe that every child deserves camp. Everything we do at summer camp is carefully planned and executed in the creation of life-changing experiences.

A perfect example of this is our opening campfire. On the first night of every overnight camp session, we host a campfire with the typical repeat-after-me songs, counselor skits, and of course s’mores!

As an outside observer, you might think that it’s just complete silliness and has no purpose. The reality is that the opening campfire is very structured and has many goals. Of all the structured goals the central theme is friendship.

 At KSS, one of our core values is to foster open and honest relationships. This includes friendship and fostering new friends. This can’t be accomplished without children being willing to be open with each other. Making friends can sometimes be a challenge. It’s not always easy to start a conversation or just be yourself in a new setting. That’s where the campfire comes in as an amazing experience to kick off every summer camp experience.

Through that opening campfire, campers are encouraged to sing, laugh, and be silly. At the start of every campfire campers typically act reserved and often scan the audience to see if it’s acceptable to sing and laugh. Once first-time campers see that their counselors and CAPs (teen leaders) are joining in the fun, they see that’s it’s okay to sing-a-long and be a kid. By the middle of the campfire, all summer campers are screaming at the top of their lungs and laughing together.

Laughing can be a unifying experience and it’s this beginning experience which allows campers to then be comfortable introducing themselves to each other and making conversation, which can last a week or a lifetime. Throughout the summer camp season, we challenge our campers emotionally and physically. It’s these introductory experiences, such as a campfire, which allows campers to take on that next challenge.

Don’t forget to sign up for summer camp! We pride ourselves in the fusion of Science, Adventure, and FUN! Your child will not only learn about a variety of sciences but they will also gain independence and confidence that they have never thought possible.