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Camp Shark Tank
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I was visiting Camp North Star in Maine a few weeks back. Steve Bernstein, the camp director, walked me around the property, and every few minutes he would point at something and say: “The kids came up with that one.” Just camper idea, after camper idea. Because Camp North Star runs something they call Shark Tank. For anyone who likes the show, the mechanic is exactly what it sounds like. Campers get a formal channel to pitch camp improvements. Anything from small logistics to big program changes is fair game. Leadership listens. And then North Star follows through and adopts the good ones. Walking the property, you can see the real physical changes the kids made happen. So often, kids assume adults will thank them for a good idea and then totally forget about it. When a camp follows through and builds the thing they pitched, they know they matter to this camp. It is one of the strongest reasons a kid comes back the next year. The reality is today’s kids get bored so easily. Part of it is that everything in the rest of their life is customized for them. Their shows, their games, their Alexa questions all bend around what they want. Then they show up to camp and nothing is theirs. The camps that offer real agency to campers, meaning a legitimate seat at the table on how the place runs, cut through that boredom. The kid stops being a consumer of the camp and starts being a contributor to it. Which is when they start calling it their camp instead of just the camp they go to. So if you are a director sitting on your end-of-summer notes right now, this one is worth stealing. Pick a week next summer. Call it whatever you want. Give your campers a formal channel to pitch improvements. Adopt the good ones. Then walk them around in July and point to the changes. Tell them out loud that this camp got better because of them. Put them in the Shark Tank (the good kind). Watch what that does for enrollment the following year. Sincerely, Senior Consultant at Immersive1st Learn more about Immersive1st's Approach |
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