Summer Day Camp
Greetings to all of the wonderful Sense of Wonder Day Camp Parents, Campers and Friends, new and old. We miss you all so much and we hope that you are all happy and healthy.
The 2025 summer camp will be 5 weeks again, from July 7th to August 8th.
COUNSELORS & JUNIOR COUNSELORS:
Counselor Online Application
Counselor Print Application PDF
LEADERS IN TRAINING:
Leader In Training Online Application
Leader In Training Print Application PDF
The Sense of Wonder Summer Day Camp
2025 Schedule:
July 7-11
July 14-18
July 21-25
July 28-Aug 1
Aug 4-8
Our Camp Staff 2025:
Pam Benjamin:
Director & Instructor
Artist, art teacher, dancer, sailor, mother, environmentalist, humanitarian, mentor
Five Adult Instructors: TBA
Leaders in Training: TBA
Summer Camp 2025 Information:
- Sign up for one or more weekly sessions.
- July 7th to August 8th.
- Ages 7–12.
- Monday–Friday; 9–1 pm.
- $330 per week.
- 50% deposit required once we have confirmed your enrollment.
- Cancellations should be made at least one week before your child’s first day of camp. After the one week date a refund will be made only if the space can be filled by another camper.
Financial Aid and Scholarships are available.
The Sense of Wonder Day Camp Schedule 2025
Our 35th Anniversary and Celebration Year
Explanation: Dear Parents and Friends, We will be drawing, painting, making sculptures and mixed media and whatever other art medium interests the campers each week in addition to all the weekly themes and projects mentioned in this Program Schedule. If a camper requests something special, we are always willing to consider it and make it possible. Please let us hear about what your children love to create.
July 7: The Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers, Locally grown and Regenerative Farming, Ceramics, Farm animals and Heirloom seeds
Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers is a puppetry troupe based in Bar Harbor, Maine. We are so excited that brothers Erik and Brian Torbeck will join us. Founded in 2000, Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers has performed at festivals, schools, libraries and theatres in the United States and Canada. They write and create all the shows they perform and have received three Citations of Excellence from UNIMA-USA, the highest national award in puppetry. An Excerpt from a local Maine newspaper quotes:
“After the show, wide-eyed spectators line up to meet the siblings and their puppets. Bryan shows the children how he uses two fingers to wiggle the tail on Goatie, the lovable, hyperactive goat, while his brother Erik kneels on the floor, giving the youngsters a close-up view of the heroic, banana-toting Chucky. ”How do you make him talk?” a little boy asks.”I have my hand in there so I can move it like this,” Erik replies, as he opens and closes Chucky’s mouth. The Torbecks, who comprise the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers of Bar Harbor, Maine (pop. 2,680), live for moments like this. “It’s fun just being around the kids, even though we’ve done the show a million times,” Erik says.”
Andrew Woodruff: Andrew is a dedicated legendary farmer on the island who has been digging in and planting seeds in soil for almost 45 years. Andrew is one of the beautiful individuals responsible for the reason the Agricultural Society has a beautiful deconstructed and reconstructed wooden New England barn. He led the epic barn raising on the island and will come in to talk to the campers and parents about regenerative and sustainable farming. Island Grown Initiative: Members of IGI will come and do a gardening and planting workshop with the campers. Gentle Farm Animals from the Allen Farm will come visit the campers this week.
The Campers will get to make puppets, paintings, sculpture, ceramics, plant seeds and use lots of other art mediums we have in our studio.
Parents Relatives and Friends, Please join us on Friday at noon, The campers will have an art show and perform a number of their original creative puppet shows. Brian and Erik will do one of their special performances and a demonstration of puppet movement with their own hand made puppets. a Vineyard Farmer will bring in samples of their locally grown produce, herbs, and other handmade products.
July 14: Birds, Creatures, Machines and Things that Fly, Flying Demonstrations by Masters of Flight, Felting Workshops with natural dyed wools:
The campers will draw, paint and fabricate three-dimensional creatures and things that fly this week out of clay, sculpey, papier mache’, balsa wood, cardboard, glue, paint and lots of other fun materials. They will explore and discover their favorite flying creature or machine and they will get to sample the stunning amount of building and decorating materials at the Sense of Wonder studio. Richard (Dick) Everett, the Award Winning and National Champion of the P24 Competition of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, will be our guiding artist in residence this week. He is a world-renowned blacksmith, steam engine specialist, model airplane builder, flyer and raconteur extraordinaire. He will show us his models and do a workshop in small rubber powered airplane building with his highly skilled assistants. We will have a field trip to our local High School Gym to practice flying the camper’s and Dick’s model planes. The campers will get to build a few different kinds of model planes and be able to fly them outside. We also might do a play or write a song if we have time. (all activities by choice)
Eleanor Stanwood and Lily Tilton the brilliant master felting artists will come in to do some workshops all about various methods of felting, creating animals and beautiful scarves, hats and other clothing items and working with natural dyed wool.
On Friday at noon, Dick Everett and friends will talk to the campers, parents and community and Dick will bring in his hand built airplane models which will be on display. There will also be an art show and flying demonstration by the campers.
July 21: Ocean Life, Wooden Boat Model Workshop, Break dancing and Hip Hop with Ricky Cole, Wilderness Awareness:
Nat Benjamin, the world renowned, award winning Naval Architect, author and Wooden Boat builder will join us this week to talk about boat building and lead a model wooden boat building workshop with the campers.
The campers will get to fabricate ocean creatures out of clay, papier mache’, plaster gauze, sculpey, paint and other mediums.
Ricky Cole, the outstanding, international, award winning dancer and actor, will join us this week, all the way from California, to do breakdancing and hiphop workshops. You do not want to miss Ricky!
Ricky Cole is a professional dancer and choreographer and currently CEO of Soul Fresh Clothing & physical extension Soul Fresh Fam, a clothing company and Professional Dance/Mentorship. Ricky has traveled the world hosting, judging, teaching workshops and master classes sharing his passion and love for dance. He has dedicated his life to raising people up, young and old. He is a versatile and multitalented artist, dynamic teacher, inspired performer, cutting edge choreographer and international host/MC.
Some of his credits include-World Of Dance (Tour Host), Fair Play Dance Camp, Americas best dance crew (Mos Wanted Crew), Dancing With the Stars (LXD), Americas Got Talent, Mary J Blige, Snoop Dogg.
Ricky is excited to elevate the Dance world to the next level by inspiring and lifting others. All of our workshops are by choice.
https://www.danceamericausa.com/ricky-cole-bio/
Dear Parents Relatives and Friends, Please join us on Friday at noon. We will have a brilliant art show, inspiring dance performances and outstanding speakers. Ricky Cole will perform one of his famous routines.
July 28: Stop Motion Animation, Drumming, Mask making, Sculpture, Painting and Multicultural Creative Arts:
Steve Lohman and Penelope MacLean: will join us this week to continue working on a large endangered creature out of Papier Mache’ and also work with the campers to do their magic with their highly creative Stop Motion Animation videos. Steve Lohman is an award winning, enormously talented artist and sculptor. His work is original and enormously creative, Lohman’s commissions include work created for public, private and corporate including Spalding International, Louis Vuitton Asia, Alvin Ailey Dance Company, Abbott Vascular Europe, The Boston Children’s Hospital, The Boston Symphony Celebrity Series, and Stanford University. Lohman lives in New Orleans and Martha’s Vineyard and is the Artistic Director of Orpheus Wines in Sonoma, California.
Here is his website: https://www.lineartgallery.com
Steve Lohman’s steel and wire sculptures are three-dimensional line drawings which stand, hang, and bounce in space. Graceful and whimsical, Lohman’s lyrical creations express subtleties of life and forms.
Penelope MacLean is from New Zealand, is married to Steve and is a very talented five-star chef, Artist and sculptor. She has sailed around the world cooking on international yachts. She is really looking forward to working with the Campers this summer.
Rick Bausman the master drummer, singer, musician and teacher will join us this week to do a drum workshop. Rick is a wonderful, personable and brilliant drummer who has traveled around the world learning new drumming rhythms to bring back to Martha’s Vineyard. He has been to Haiti, Africa, the Caribbean and more and loves sharing his talents and skills too people of all ages. Here is is Rhythm of Life website. https://www.drumrol.org
The Campers will get to make Masks, Collage, Stop Motion Animation and Art Projects from diverse cultures and use other art mediums we have in our studio.
Parents Relatives, Friends and Community, Please join us on Friday at noon, We will have a breathtaking art show, Brilliant Performances and Phenomenal Speakers.
August 5: Music, Singers Songwriters, pianists Brenda Cline and Paul Smith and Dancer, Singer, Drummer Godfrey Muwulya, Matthew Lawler the Stone Carver. Art Projects from Diverse Cultures, Human and Civil Rights and Antiracism:
Brenda Cline: We are very blessed to have Brenda with us this week. She is a multitalented singer, songwriter, pianist, drummer, educator, artist and more. She taught Art and music for many years in the Tortola, BWI public schools and is a stunning and very accomplished artist, singer, musician. She is a bolt of light and joy! Reinforcing interactive, and variety filled songs for all ages, and times.
Love is really the secret ingredient, along with a passion of spreading it in song, and in her daily life. When working on Love Note projects, her music teaching, and recording experience, can be felt and seen. Around the world venues, will never change that homegrown power. ” Let’s Sing !”
Theresa Thomason:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Thomason#:~:text=Musical%20career,in%20more%20than%20150%20cities.
Theresa Thomason has toured for over thirteen years in the most hallowed theaters of Europe and performed at the Vatican in 2005. Her career has spanned over two decades of performances and recordings with the Grammy Award-winning Paul Winter Consort, Pete Seeger, Dream Theater, renowned conductor John Rutter, actor and activist Ruby Dee, jazz group FRENS, and many others. Thomason continues to expand her range, style, and creativity and has her own acclaimed musical production called “The Sisterhood”.
Theresa has performed in “Hot Feet”, the Broadway musical conceived, choreographed, and directed by Maurice Hines, featuring music from Earth, Wind & Fire. She is set to return to Europe with her production of “The Sisters” in the winter/spring of 2009. Recently, Thomason performed two sold-out concerts at the Zenith in Strasbourg, France, and at Les Dominicains De Haute Alsace
Paul Smith is a very skilled pianist, singer, conductor, songwriter and teaches and conducts a chorus in Tortola, British West Indies.
The outstanding choreographer, dancer, musician, drummer, actor and singer, Godfrey Muwulya from Uganda Godfrey Muwulya, Master Teacher and performing Artist, began training as a dancer and musician in his native country of Uganda at the age of 5. He has been featured in the New York Times and on Martha’s Vineyard through the Yard. He has collaborated with the NYU January study abroad program, and has performed at NYU at the Loewe Theater, Skirball Center, and Radio City Music Hall. He has taught in numerous K-12 schools in NYC in collaboration with NYU Dance Education alumni and also Elementary Schools around Massachusetts and Martha’s Vineyard.
The campers will also get to make drums and other instruments and do art projects from diverse cultures including painting, ceramics and the potter’s wheel and use other art mediums.
On Friday at noon we will have a beautiful art show, brilliant performances by our visiting artists and campers, eloquent speakers and our end of Summer party. We hope that you will join us and bring all your relatives, friends and community for our end of summer gathering and Celebration.
❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Sense of Wonder Creations Live 2010 CD
Our Sense of Wonder Creations Live 2010 CD is available now at the CD Baby music website. Amazing socially and environmentally conscious songs written and sung by our summer campers and counselors. All the income will be donated to humanitarian and environmental organizations.
Download individual songs or buy the CD Sense of Wonder Creations Live 2010
Summer Camp Photo Gallery!
All photos by Lynn Christoffers
The Power of One
One song can spark a moment
One flower can wake the dream
One tree can start a forest
One bird can herald spring
One smile begins a friendship
One handclasp lifts a soul
One star can guide a ship at sea
One word can frame the goal
One vote can change a nation
One sunbeam lights a room
One candle wipes out darkness
One laugh will conquer gloom
One step must start each journey
One word must start each prayer
One hope will raise our spirits
One touch can show you care
One voice can speak with wisdom
One heart can know what’s true
One life can make the difference
You see, it’s up to you!!
Ashish Ram
(Author Unknown)
I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;
and because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do something I can do.
We don’t need more money,
we don’t need greater success or fame,
We don’t need the perfect body or even the perfect mate.
Right now, at this very moment, we have a mind,
which is all the basic equipment we need to help the world
Be a better place.