Where can a youngster design a video game, learn to program, create a digital video production, take apart a computer, write a home page, play tennis, and make new friends?

At the National Computer Camps!

Want to learn about a hard drive... ...just look inside

I founded the first ever computer camp in 1977 to provide young people a stimulating environment where cooperative learning is the key to success. Computers affect our lives daily, changing the way we work, play and even think. Now the Internet is central to everything we do. After a computer camp experience, those "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" essays will never be the same. With ample computer time and an emphasis on hands-on experience, campers come to understand the computers' potential and limitations. The impact of computers on our society requires that a computer camp provide general knowledge about computers, computing, and social implications of computers.

The following objectives serve as guidelines in conducting camp at NCC:

1. Provide a safe and secure environment for campers by supervising all camp activities with a competent and a well-trained staff.
2. Computer camp is not a summer school, but rather a place where learning and fun are rolled into one and where the campers' self esteem is of foremost importance.
3. Introduce computer concepts and techniques and thus provide a general appreciation of the power and limitations of computers.
4. Teach computer programming in several languages and for all levels of experience and provide a suitable basis for subsequent study in high school or university settings.
5. Teach age appropriate application software covering topics such as video game design, graphics and animation, sound, networking, spread sheets, slide shows, etc.
6. Familiarize campers with the Internet and teach campers how to write their own home page.
7. Encourage creativity by providing opportunities for campers to explore and discover, for example through game design and video production.
8. Provide a technical, social and moral perspective of the role of computers in society.
9. Use the computer as a motivational instrument to stimulate interest in science, mathematics and the arts.
10. Provide a proper balance between educational and recreational computer usage.
11. Offer an optional sports program and encourage campers to participate.
12. Hours of instruction, a wide-range of topics, good practice exercises and a favorable camper to staff ratio all help campers to "learn by doing".