Independent Projects
Each camper, regardless of session length, spends a portion of each day working alongside fellow campers, counselors, leadership staff, and shop specialists to design and build a project of their own creation. This pillar of the Beam Camp experience invites the campers to engage in every step of the creative process. Campers brainstorm what kinds of tools and materials they would most like to work with, create a mock up of their design, and work with specialists to create materials lists, sketch out a production timeline, and build their projects piece by piece over the course of their session.
The Independent Project pathway at Beam Camp builds on tool and material knowledge learned elsewhere like on the Big Project, and encourages campers to apply that knowledge to their personal lives. Campers often choose to build furniture for their homes, gifts for loved ones, and other projects that will live on outside of the summer spent building them.
Through the making of Independent Projects, campers build on character traits like autonomy, responsibility, and curiosity.