Bay Area, CA
Beyond Thunder Camp: DIY & Maker Culture
 |
| Mad Maude & her instructor crew |
Post-Oaklandia for Kids
Reuse, Recyle and Repurpose is the name of the game as bands of campers wander an adventurous post-industrial Bay Area. Gone are the lattes and condos. Backyard chickens and goats have taken over the streets, home gardens feed the city, and people have remembered what its like to be a village and a tribe again.
But all is not perfect, hordes of fixie-bicycle gangs roam the city, packs of mutant jackalopes are on the loose and the Soapbox and Roller Derby Overlords plan on capturing Trackers instructors and making them battle in a giant Thunderdome.
There's only one hope for the former city of Oaklandia. She's been a loner. She's survived on her own in this crazy world because she was even more crazy. But now Trackers Camp needs her. All the Trackers Kids tell the "tell" where one day, soon, Mad Maude will return to save us all.
Preparing for Battle
DIY takes on a whole new level as campers learn to remake scrap into functional tools, armor and even transportation. While the complexity of projects are dependent on age, this is the ultimate mad science and junkyard genius experience. We put together awesome soapbox go-carts, refit the buses to survive the post-apocalyptic landscape, sow our own patchwork clothing, make safe foam arrows and much more.
The Carnival: Two Instructors Enter, One Instructor Leaves
Finally the week ends with a giant the Post-Apocalyptic Carnival for kids on Friday. Each Trackers instructor finds their way to the Thunderdome where they battle each other with foam weapons as their campers cheer them on.
Locations
This summer we offer drop-off and pick-up in north Oakland (near 580 and Highway 24)
Register for Beyond Thunder Camp
Ages 7-8 Little House in the Big Valley includes
• mobile camp around Portland Greenspaces and Beyond
• soapbox go-cart making: beginner project
• primitive skills but with DIY scrap materials
• making your own post-apocalyptic armor and tribal banner
• help refit the bus for travel in a post-apocalyptic world
• wild edible and medicinal plants for a post-industrial world
• a guest appearence by Mad Maude
• caretaking and wilding the landscape
• chickens and goats
• tag stealth games with safe foam arrows
• patchwork and repurposed DIY clothing
• the Thunderdome Carnival
Ages 9-10 Little House in the Big Valley includes
• mobile camp around Portland Greenspaces and Beyond
• soapbox go-cart making: beginner project
• primitive skills but with DIY scrap materials
• making your own post-apocalyptic armor and tribal banner
• help refit the bus for travel in a post-apocalyptic world
• wild edible and medicinal plants for a post-industrial world
• a guest appearence by Mad Maude
• caretaking and wilding the landscape
• chickens and goats
• tag stealth games with safe foam arrows
• patchwork and repurposed DIY clothing
• the Thunderdome Carnival
A Good Fit?
Before you register PLEASE READ the critical information below to help you decide if your program is the right match for you or you child. TrackersNW invests in families and students dedicated to maturity and accountability as a team. The experience of your child is heightened as these filters insure a safe, supportive and competent collaboration with both our instructors and all other team members (including students).
This program is a good fit for the child and parent who...
• trust one another
• are interested in and empathetic to the natural world
• crave a different way of experiencing and seeing both natural and modern world
• want to have fun
• possess a sense of adventure
• make intelligent choices
• display competent autonomy when needed
• can make and keep clear agreements concerning safety
• can help insure the safety of their peers and collaborators
• works diligently toward adult accountability, consequences and responsibility
• will come dressed appropriately to stay warm, dry and healthy
• is okay with being muddy, cold and wet at times
• can be a real kid
• shares well with others
This program is NOT a good fit for children who...
• are not interested in nature & scout awareness
• are not empathetic for the natural world
• are being forced to come to camp
• cannot display competent autonomy when needed
• cannot make and keep clear agreements and choices concerning safety
• is kept inside all the time so may be uncomfortable
• will not dress appropriately to stay warm, dry and healthy
• is not okay with being muddy, cold and wet at times
• has trouble working with others and respecting the needs of other participants
Please note that if your child is positively working on behavior, we are willing to work with them and you with clear agreements
