February 2025
By Cristina Santillan
In the cool hours of one July morning, cars circled the red welcome center at Auerfarm, ready to drop off their campers for the last day of the fifth session of Auercamp. Passing windows rolled down to reveal campers in astronaut helmets, extra-terrestrial headbands, and face paint smiling at counselors dressed just as silly as they were.
It was the last day of Space is the Place Week at Auercamp. Throughout the week, each group had been tasked with creating a planet from scratch. Groups worked to brainstorm the planet’s landscape, the types of plants and animals they may have, the people that live there, and the rules they follow. This week-long project culminated in the Great Auercamp Space Exploration. Campers came to camp dressed in outer space costumes, either representative of their planet or the general topic, and traveled through the Auercamp Galaxy visiting each planet. The groups also created stamps for their planet and a passport to collect stamps from the planets they visited.
With passports in hand, the groups were off!
Younger groups such as the Peas and Carrots focused on the physical elements of outer space, highlighting rocket ships, extraterrestrial beings, and physical planets.
The Melon’s group at Auercamp created a complex planet with diverse plants and wildlife. The melons were divided into four teams to create the four continents of Planet Crystal: muscletopia, puppydale, Ruby Island, and 4pokemonsdragon.
To build their continents, they had to decide on their animals and plants with guided questions such as, What do the animals eat? Where do they hide? How do they get along with other animals? Where do plants grow? How do they get energy? What eats them? And more.
After planning their creatures and plants, the Melons used play dough, clay, kinetic sand, toothpicks, Q-tips, construction paper, and other materials to create the physical elements of their planet. They used modeling clay to create their animals and made dioramas to show different aspects of their continent. Throughout the week, campers earned different materials for their continents by participating in camp activities, showing good character, and upholding camp values. Campers earned technology, currency, crops, and communication with other continents.
Other counselors were impressed with the detail the Melons group put into their projects, and the campers were proud to show their work to the other groups.
The Beets group, comprised of campers entering 3rd and 4th grade, focused on different climates and the animals that live there. Using construction paper, cardboard, markers, and a lot of tape, the beets divided their planet into deserts and tropical climates with cities at the center.
A mosaic of purple, pink, and yellow construction paper casts a sunset over the desert. Cacti and sand dunes cover the desolate landscape. Just a few miles west, elephants and giraffes run through the savannah, guided by the birds above, carefully avoiding the crocodiles at the watering hole. Just past the savannah is the capital city filled with cottages for people to live in, restaurants for dining, and shopping malls for entertainment. The city is along the ocean, making for nice beachfront homes for the people of Tropical City.
The Beets enjoyed working together on different elements of their planet and learning about Earth’s various climates.
The Berries, campers entering 4th and 5th grade, enjoyed exploring government and politics. They were able to successfully create the Berry Federation and elected their counselors as their leaders with representatives from each continent to serve on the senate. They decided on Berry Bucks as their currency and the Central Berry Bank. They established libraries, a national anthem, a military, and equal rights because “All Berries Are Beautiful.”
The Berries divided their planet into several continents, each as colorful and creative as the last.
Berry Blossom is home to only animals. They have the full range of Blue Berry Fields, the Strawberry Mountains, and the Big Berry River, which is made entirely of berry juice. (Pictured right).
On Strawberry Isle, you can find the Legendary Berry Woods. Shaped like its name, Strawberry Isle is covered in pink grass, and tall blueberry trees sit at the head. You may see grape frogs, blueberry jays, and blueberry cats if you stay in Strawberry Town, the capital of Strawberry Isle.
Strawberry Volcano Continent is home to the United States of Berry and the twin Berry Islands. The capital of Berry Planet, Simsberry, is north of the Berry River on the west end of the continent. Just below the USB are the Berry Islands, known for their cherry shape. The left island is the Cherry Bahamas, known for its cherry trees and Heart Lake at its center. The island on the right is called Pina, named after the pineapple trees that cover its landscape. (Pictured left).
And with that, The Great Aueramp Space Exploration came to an end. Each camper enjoyed contributing to their planet and being able to share it with other groups just as much as they enjoyed exploring the Auercamp Galaxy and learning about each different planet.
Every detail, every continent, and every planet was created entirely by the campers. With guidance from their counselors in terms of materials and directions, campers in each group worked together to express themselves creatively in this world-building project. They were able to brainstorm, collaborate, create, and present their projects to about one hundred campers by the end of the day. Campers also got to tour different planets, ask questions, and learn from peers of all ages.
Projects like these are at the heart of Auercamp. Having fun, stepping out of your comfort zone, and expressing yourself creatively are all staples of a camp experience, but being able to learn and gain valuable skills that will help campers in school and life is the extra step that Auercamp takes in its summer programming. Our campers are now better equipped to research, create, and present for a science fair or book report. They can be confident in their abilities, which will propel them forward in any aspect of their futures. That is the Auercamp difference.
To learn more about Auercamp programming, please visit www.auerfarm.org/summercamps. Join us for Winter, Spring, and Summer Camp, or year-round for enrichment, and experience the Auercamp difference.
