SummerQuest at the Crane Estate in Ipswich is a day camp for ages 5-15, promoting environmental awareness and place-based learning through hands-on, outdoor adventures.*****
Where on the North Shore can your child embark on a Seacoast Safari, or learn to thrive in the wild after surviving a shipwreck on the shores of Steep Hill Beach? Where can your child play a game of Live Action Clue and solve a mystery while rambling around a 59-room mansion that looks like a castle?
SummerQuest at the Crane Estate encourages kids entering grades K-9 to exercise their imaginations by appealing to their adventurous spirits. Activities revolve around the "quest" of the week, an unfolding story that inspires imagination and encourages children to challenge themselves.Our stomping grounds include a "Castle" (the 1928 Great House at the Crane Estate), sandy beaches with tide pools, miles of trails through the Crane Wildlife Refuge, a secret Pine Grove, a portion of the Great Salt Marsh, the rolling hills of the Grand Allee and an island in Essex Bay. The perfect playground and outdoor classroom!
Highlights from last year's camp session include playing Clue in the Great House, solving the mystery of the century during CSI (Crane Scene Investigators) week, tidepooling at Steep Hill Beach, and exploring Choate island. One of our 2016 Quests, "Expedition XVI: Discover the World" includes field trips to local Trustees of Reservations properties such as Ravenswood and Agassiz Rock, where we'll test our orienteering and map-making skills.
Highlights from last year's camp session include playing Clue in the Great House, solving the mystery of the century during CSI (Crane Scene Investigators) week, tidepooling at Steep Hill Beach, and exploring Choate island. One of our 2016 Quests, "Expedition XVI: Discover the World" includes field trips to local Trustees of Reservations properties such as Ravenswood and Agassiz Rock, where we'll test our orienteering and map-making skills.We start each day with songs and games, then break into smaller groups to pursue the activities associated with the week's Quest. After a picnic lunch there is swim time at Steep Hill Beach, followed by Camper's Choice: some of the activities are kayaking in Essex Bay, Capture the Flag on the Grand Allee, arts and crafts in the Barn, a nature hike through the Crane Wildlife Refuge, or building shelters in the Pine Grove.
This year we're offering a Family Camp Out option at the end of the Crane Castaways Quest, with activities such as a Night Hike and s'mores around the campfire.
For the older kids, The Great Rowing Adventure, a collaboration with Lowell's Boat Shop, starts with boat building at Lowell's, incorporates a rowing journey from Lowell's to Crane Beach, and finishes with camp outs in the Pine Grove.
Operated by the Trustees of Reservations, a member-supported conservation organization, the camp’s intention is to promote environmental awareness. Camp director Dorothy Antczak tried to articulate the goal of SummerQuest as it relates to the Trustees of Reservations’ mission. “The idea is to cultivate a connection to place - a feeling of ownership really - so that these children carry with them into adulthood a love of nature and the great outdoors, and the desire to protect the environment. The added bonus is it gets kids outside and off the couch, away from the television and the computer screen. They get fresh air and exercise, and learn to observe the world around them first-hand.” Of course good old-fashioned camp pursuits are very much a part of the weekly sessions. After a refreshing dip in the ocean at swim time, afternoons are spent playing Capture the Flag, or making arts and crafts in the Barn, or kayaking in Essex Bay. “We try to appeal to a wide range of interests,” Antczak says. “We want kids to leave camp at the end of the day happy and tired – and ready to come back for more!”
With the spectacular Crane Estate as the camp’s home base, there really is something for everyone. Campers tour the iconic Great House mansion; discover uninhabited islands by kayak; go tide-pooling and swimming with friends in the pristine waters of the Atlantic; create great works of art; sing and play games in the gardens; and explore the surrounding marshes, forests, and dunes.
With the spectacular Crane Estate as the camp’s home base, there really is something for everyone. Campers tour the iconic Great House mansion; discover uninhabited islands by kayak; go tide-pooling and swimming with friends in the pristine waters of the Atlantic; create great works of art; sing and play games in the gardens; and explore the surrounding marshes, forests, and dunes.
Nicole Loring, a SummerQuester mother, is enthusiastic about the value of sending her children to SummerQuest camp. "Wonderful … everything I could ask for in a summer camp. I love that the program leverages the beautiful surroundings with so much imagination and a great variety of activities!"
Cost per week for half-day program (ages K-2): $175/Trustees members; $245/nonmembers. Cost per week for full-day program: $350/Trustees members; $420/nonmembers.
SummerQuest is a place-based day camp managed by The Trustees of Reservations located at their nationally renowned, two thousand-acre Crane Estate property located at 290 Argilla Rd., Ipswich, MA. For more information, please visit www.thetrustees.org/summerquest. To contact the camp office, please email summerquest@ttor.org or call 978.356.4351, ext. 4052.
Cost per week for half-day program (ages K-2): $175/Trustees members; $245/nonmembers. Cost per week for full-day program: $350/Trustees members; $420/nonmembers.
SummerQuest is a place-based day camp managed by The Trustees of Reservations located at their nationally renowned, two thousand-acre Crane Estate property located at 290 Argilla Rd., Ipswich, MA. For more information, please visit www.thetrustees.org/summerquest. To contact the camp office, please email summerquest@ttor.org or call 978.356.4351, ext. 4052.
