Co-written by Don S. and Max O.
This summer, we're set to deliver over 50,000 fantastic camp experiences to students across the country. From registration to the final hours, here's what it's like to be a camper at iD Tech, via some of our favorite GIFs.
1. You're Going to Camp!
Your parents have just surprised you with... a week at iD Tech Camps! How stoked are you?
2. Drop-Off on the First Day of Camp
Monday morning: an adventure. The great unknown. It’s time to #MakeAwesome at camp, but maybe you’re nervous about taking on new tech challenges and making new friends, regardless of how excited you also are. (Never fear, our instructors are pros at helping kids make friends!) Speaking of instructors...
3. Meeting Your Obi-Wan
You weren't sure what to expect, but this instructor greeting you with a smile, a high five, and more energy than you thought possible is, well, pretty cool. Plus they're a professional in tech? You just found your new mentor.
4. Icebreakers
Warp Speed. Captain’s Coming. High-Five Relay. From the second you’re checked in and waving goodbye to mom and dad, you've met your Obi-Wan, you’re grouped with your fellow campers, and you're playing engaging games to help you make friends and spark your energy right away.
5. New Software
Sleek black laptops, buckets of LEGOs, glowing screens, and flashing circuits are calling your name. No time for nerves, you’re on your way to mastering the software and hardware in front of you.
6. New Friends
Even before lunch, you and your campmates are closer than Batman and Robin. #squadgoals
7. Activities
After being at the computer and filling your brain with all those new skills, you’re as wiggly as a puppy in the snow. Time to get outside! Your instructor is ready to lead you in all kinds of outdoor activities to keep you balanced and focused.
8. Drop-Off (Day Two)
Move aside, mom and dad! You’re back at camp and couldn’t be more stoked to tackle the challenges that Day Two will bring.
9. Learning New Skills
The days are flying by, and you’re learning skills you never imagined. Maybe you’re building autonomous robots or programming new Minecraft mods in Java. Maybe you’re building circuits to make your very own light show. Maybe you’re designing your very first fully functioning laptop. Whatever you’re doing, you’re evolving faster than you can say “Charmeleon.”
10. Gaming Tournament
Instruction time is over. You and your fellow overnight campers are gathered around your laptops, faces lit by the blue glow of the screens, frantically typing and clicking, competing against each other in team-based games like Team Fortress 2. The energy is high, the camaraderie is real, and you cannot wait to compete. You're ready to stay for an Ultimate Gaming Weekend.
11. Camp Culture
You knew right away that camp life at iD Tech was going to be fun, but there was no way you could have predicted just how fun and unique and quirky it really is. I mean, Dress Up Days, Crazy Hat Days, Minecraft Days, Harry Potter Days, the list goes on and on! Why can’t school be this rad?
12. Finishing Your Project
All your hard work and learning is paying off. You have the skills and the energy to make your final project shine... you just have to finish by Friday!
13. Friday Raffle
Your project is finished, your parents are on their way to see all the stellar things you’ve accomplished, but first, the RAFFLE! You and your fellow campers compete in a friendly, high-energy, ticket-driven raffle for many prizes, and the best one of all? Getting to pie your instructor!
14. Sharing the Project With Your Parents
Family Showcase is here! Your project is finished and polished, your parents are at your computer, and you're showing off everything you’ve learned (which is more than even you realized!). Your parents and your instructor couldn’t be more proud of you. Rock on!
15. Can't Stop Learning
Camp is over, and there’s no doubt that you’re sad, but you’re so inspired by what you were able to accomplish in just one week that you’re hittin’ the books (okay, probably more likely hittin’ the internet) to keep honing your hard-earned tech skills and seeing where they take you!
Bonus: Hearing You Get to Go to Camp Again
(We think this one is pretty self-explanatory.)
There's still plenty of summer left, so join the thousands of kids and teens who have already attended an iD Tech program this season, and let your child experience the GIF-like joy for themselves!