Many parents these days are looking to give their child that special summer experience – the one where he or she could explore, gain new skills, mature and have a lot of fun along the way. BIG IDEA Israeli summer camp is exactly that program- An international tech program taking place in the heart of the start-up nation. Children and teens, ages 7-18, arrive to BIG IDEA every summer from 30 countries: USA, France, UK, Spain, Italy, Canada, Germany, Turkey, Japan, Russia, China and many more. The main language at camp is English, though you get to hear many other languages as well. Half of the campers are Israeli and the other half are international, which creates the unique multi-cultural atmosphere at camp. During the 2-week session, participants get hands-on experience in tech and media workshops of their choice. Some campers choose to create their own computer game, build robots or even program and develop apps. Others can choose to excel in photography, graphic design, become a DJ and even design jewelries in 3D software, which they can later print in a 3D printer and wear. The workshops are led in small groups of up to 8 campers by professional and mature staff. Teens who want to explore other fields can enjoy a daily wave surfing course at the Mediterranean, theater workshop where they get to perform in front of the whole camp, martial arts and even scientific experiments. The older age groups start designing their own start-up in a special entrepreneurship program.
The high-school age participants are also going on a special field trip to main tech companies in Israel, such as Google and Giving Imaging, But BIG IDEA is not just about technology and sitting in front of the computer all day long. The variety of outdoor activities make the kids jump, dance and make new friendships: Talent show, pool party, bonfire and sports competitions are just a small part of the exciting programs. BIG IDEA camp is located in Meir Shfeya Youth Village, a gorgeous evergreen campus located on Mount Carmel (Near Zichron Ya’akov). This is not your typical American camp bunks. Beautiful dorms With 3-6 campers in a room, AC and private showers and bathrooms, puts BIG IDEA as one of the leading international summer camp. The camp also offers visits to the campus, to meet the staff during their April and May open house events. The idea to open a technology summer camp in Israel started 10 years ago in the mind of Dotan Tamir, the CEO and founder of BIG IDEA. Dotan says that making the camp international, was the goal from the get-go. “People are looking up to Israel when they talk about the success story of the Israeli start-up. For the past 10 years, we had thousands of teens coming to Israel and exploring this on their own. Some of them fly in to Israel in the summer, and some are based in Israel and looking for a meaningful summer experience for their child.” Dotan explain and smiles “Nothing beats the look on a camper’s eyes when he or she create something on their own, or use a skill they just learned. The satisfaction they have is the best feeling in the world!”
For more info on BIGIDEA please visit www.bigidea.camp.
