We’ve got a group of very special guests on camp this weekend – our 2013 Explorers!
For one weekend each summer, LBMC welcomes a group of prospective new campers for a taste of summer camp life. Explorers Weekend is a mini-camp for girls who want to get a feel for Bryn Mawr before signing on for a full summer. Even though they’re with us for a very short time, our Explorers get the chance to sample nearly every aspect of camp, from a full range of program areas to dining hall spirit and special events – and of course, it wouldn’t be camp without a campfire.
Our goal for Explorers Weekend is to help potential campers get as realistic a camp experience as possible. They wear camp T-shirts, sleep in bunks, eat in the dining hall, participate in Talent Night, and attend a full schedule of daily camp activities designed especially for them. It’s amazing to see how quickly Explorers make friends and adapt to camp life – not only will we be sad to see them go home on Sunday, we know many of them won’t be ready to leave after all the fun they’ve had!
Explorers Weekend is staffed by an energetic group of Bryn Mawr moms, many of them LBMC alumnae themselves. As camp parents, they can anticipate many of the questions that may arise for Explorers and parents alike, since they were asking the same questions not so very long ago. They provide caring supervision throughout the course of the weekend. (And sometimes we suspect they’re having almost as much fun as the Explorers…)
The Explorers aren’t the only ones having a new camp experience this weekend; many of our Bunk One campers volunteer to be Explorers Weekend counselors and are spending their days accompanying our visiting campers to activities, eating meals with them and helping them settle into their cabins at night. They enjoy the opportunity to pass down their love of camp to the next generation of Bryn Mawr Angels. It also gives them a completely different perspective on camp as, for the first time, they really understand just how hard camp counselors work! It’s not unusual for Bunk One campers to go to counselors, group leaders and division heads after Explorers Weekend and express appreciation for everything they do. For our oldest campers, volunteering with our Explorers is great leadership experience, and more than one Explorers counselor has been inspired to return to camp after her Bunk One summer as a Leader-In-Training or junior counselor.