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Wonderstruck day camp uses a unique fantasy story approach; Here’s what that looks like.
You probably know all about summer day camps to help campers learn academic and athletic skills. These camps focus on various things, from basketball and swimming to theatre and STEM. There are so many awesome things to choose from on the North Shore this summer!
Did you know that there is another kind of day camp happening this summer? From July 22-August 30, Wonderstruck Camp explores a magical fantasy world set in the enchanted forests of the Pacific Northwest. Wonderstruck combines the games, crafts and outdoor activities that campers love with a magical flair.
Wonderstruck’s day camp in North Vancouver takes a unique story-led approach. Each activity advances the plot of a fantasy fairytale. Campers are the Lab Assistants to Professor Lorekeeper, an expert in magic. Counselors are Professor Lorekeeper’s ‘Senior Magic Apprentices.’ Wizards, fairies, mermaids, giants and a mystery centaur-unicorn creature from the future all join the fun as campers work their way through solving a central problem in the mythical world of Wonderstruck.
Here’s a summary of what campers experienced during Wonderstruck Camp this past March Break (follow Wonderstruck on Instagram to see more). Every single Wonderstruck Camp features a unique storyline, like a TV show set in the same world but without a particular order to the episodes. That means campers can come back to Wonderstruck over and over and have a new experience each time. No two Wonderstruck Camp Sessions are the same!
Here’s what campers experienced during March Break 2024:
Arriving at Camp on the first day
Camper’s arrive in a room decorated to look like a Lab, run by Professor Lorekeeper, PhD. The Professor is an expert in all things magical, specializing in mythical creatures that can be found in the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest. The Professor informs the campers that they will be her assistants this week, to study the magical creatures of the forests. First thing’s first: they need to make wands so they can do spells to protect them from any dangers they encounter as they work with the Professor. The counselors, who are ‘Senior Magical Apprentices’ to the Professor will help guide the campers.
Campers make their own wands.
The assistants go out into the forest to gather one stick each that can be used to make a wand. Wand sticks must not be too big or too small. Each wand is unique. Sticks in hand, campers and staff head inside to decorate their sticks. While their wands dry, they spend some time practicing spells from Professor Lorekeeper’s Wise Wizard’s Guide to Magic. (Available soon on Amazon - read an excerpt here.)
A Magical Interruption from a Wizard named Wonder
All of a sudden, there is a knock at the Lab door. Professor Lorekeeper opens the door to reveal her good friend, Wonder the Wizard. Wonder explains that there is a problem. Strange creatures are running around in the forest and they have scared away all the fairies. Wonder needs help. The campers head outside to try to locate the missing fairies. They find only fairy houses and two small locked trunks. Inside are papers covered with strange languages. According to The Wise Wizard’s Guide, this is Faerish, the writing of the fairies.
Interpreting the Fairies’ Note
The campers discover they need Sage, another wizard and Wonder’s friend. Sage is an interpreter of all magical languages. They do a Summoning Spell from The Wise Wizard’s Guide to Magic. Then they go on a hike in the forest to find Sage. Often Sage requires a tribute to interpret magical notes. This takes the form of a skit, song, or art activity. Sage interprets the note, which states that the fairies will return once the campers plant plants to make them feel welcome. (Fairies are huge environmentalists with a great love of growing things; plants are a great way to lure them out.) Campers and their counselors (or Senior Magical Apprentices) plant pea shoots back at the Lab to welcome the fairies. The Professor helps them water the plants with a special welcoming elixir (water with food colouring).
Ending Each Day with Games
Each day ends with campers ‘searching for evidence’ of mythical creatures. They find tiny cups and saucers, books and other things that fairies have left behind. Their Guidebooks contain a spot to record all of the evidence they find. Campers also receive GlimmerGems (round gem stickers) throughout the day to recognize positive attitudes, kindness and resilience. These GlimmerGems can be traded in for prizes from Professor Lorekeeper’s Magical Trunk. Campers also spend the last segment of each day practicing their spells and playing ‘Wizard, Mermaid, Flying Fairy’ (a version of ‘rock,’ ‘paper,’ ‘scissors’ that uses wands).
Rescuing Mermaids, Summoning Fairies and Making Music on Days 2-5
Over the course of the week, campers begin to understand that the creatures wreaking havoc in the forest are centicorns (centaur-unicorn hybrids) from the future. These centicorns were created by the Professor and Wonder in the Lab initially. Their future habitat is completely degraded because of greed and a lack of concern for the natural world. If the centicorns can retrieve the elements of this timeline (air, sound, water, earth, light) then they can magically reconstruct their world. That is why they are running all over the forest and scaring away the fairies. The campers, through the course of activities that span all the days and range from outdoor hikes and wide games to indoor craft activities and experiments, create and discover items that represent each element.
One highlight of the week was hearing fairy laughter in the bushes as campers found more tiny cups, saucers and books. Another highlight was ‘rescuing’ mermaids from where they had become stranded in the forest by blowing bubbles on them to keep them hydrated during their trip back to Professor Lorekeeper’s Lab in a wagon (‘hydration wagon’). Campers also loved doing the ‘Unhiding Spell’ on their Polaroid pictures to reveal the images and exploring the forest under the watchful eye of seasoned wizards, Wonder and Sage.
Sending a Mystery Visitor Back to a Future Timeline
Gathering all of the elements, the campers follow a captured centicorn to the Time Travel Portal that brought her to this timeline. They do a Time Travel Spell from the Professor’s Guide to Magic to return the centicorn home, with the necessary elements to reconstruct her world. Unfortunately, the Spell does not work the first time. The campers discover that the missing element is joy! Campers ‘draw their joy’ by creating pictures of what made them happy throughout the week. They then send these pictures, the elements, and the centicorn back through the TIme Travel Portal successfully and return home to the Lab to celebrate.
Importance of Imaginative Play
Do you see kids playing make-believe and wonder what purpose it serves? Pretend-play is proven to develop key skills in kids. Imaginative play develops cognitive reasoning, problem-solving, collaboration and resiliency in kids. At Wonderstruck, kids find themselves advancing in learning and life skills - all while having a great time.
Importance of Outdoor Play
At Wonderstruck, campers and staff spend at least half our day outdoors- rain or shine. Did you know that outdoor play boosts emotional well-being, social skills as well as environmental awareness? And the right to play is so important for human development that the United Nations recognizes play as a human right? At Wonderstruck, kids get a healthy dose of outdoor play, which helps their development and builds their social and emotional health.
Register today for more stories
Every single week of Wonderstruck features a different storyline in the magical world populated by wizards, fairies, mermaids, elves and more. Professor Lorekeeper and her Senior Magical Apprentices remain the guides campers need to navigate through the story. Campers also write their own spells and have them ‘approved’ by the wizards. At Wonderstruck, campers find themselves practicing academic skills – often without even recognizing they are doing it.
How much does Wonderstruck cost?
Get exclusive discount codes when you join our Wonderstruck Community by signing up for updates on our website (www.wonderstruckcamp.com).
Four-day session: $300
Five-day session: $275
LIT (Leaders in Training option for older kids): $175/ week
Before and aftercare is available for $60/week
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