Fun and Learning at Galileo Summer Quest

The Pea is on her second week at Galileo Summer Quest, and given Galileo's great reputation, I wasn't surprised that she has been enjoying herself so much, what with all of Galileo's theme days, their cool activities, and their great staff. What surprises me is how much she is learning amidst all the fun.

For this session at Galileo Summer Quest, The Pea is "majoring" in Fashion Design. Here's the official description of what Fashion Design majors do:
Campers will learn the fundamentals of fashion this session as they practice the arts of apparel brainstorming and sketching, using industrial grade sewing machines to stitch, alter, fit and make their designs work!

Campers do get to choose "minors" (The Pea has Jewelry Design and Hip-Hop Dance), and they have general camp activities, but a significant part of her time is spent in the Fashion Design room, which is filled to the brim with sewing supplies, scraps, fashion posters, and other bits and bobs to inspire any budding designer.

Every day I've been asking The Pea how her day at camp went, and what she did that day, and based on her answers I don't think this description gives an accurate picture of what these kids are learning. They're actually getting a crash course in fashion! Every day they are introduced to a Designer of the Day -- one day it was Yves San Laurent, another day it was Betsey Johnson, another day it was Emilio Pucci -- and they learn all about that designer's style. They are shown slides of the designer's works, and how their lives influence their art. Fashion may be frivolous, but it's also art, and it's a reflection of the culture and the times, so I feel like The Pea is getting quite a dose of art and history, and I couldn't be more pleased.

Aside from fashion for art's sake, fashion is also a business, and The Pea is also getting a taste of the practical side of fashion as she and her fellow Fashion Design majors are split up into groups and asked to create "companies". She has had to think about location, material sourcing, marketing and branding, and I'm betting she knows now that fashion isn't just about drawing clothes!

Not that there's anything wrong with drawing clothes. In fact, it's one of The Pea's favorite hobbies, and it's one of the reasons she chose this major. She has spent quite a bit of time working on her fashion portfolio, and knowing her, she'll probably be adding to it steadily throughout the year.

Incredibly, she's even learning how to use a sewing machine! She is turning a skirt into a dress of her own design (older campers work with dress patterns, but since she's an incoming 5th grader, her project is simpler). She isn't finished yet, but I think her creation is going to turn out quite stylish! It definitely looks like something she could wear out with her friends. I can't wait to see her model it for me once she's done!

This is our first experience with Galileo Summer Quest's major/minor structure, and I'm guessing you can tell that I really like it. I love that the camp session lasts 2 weeks, so they can really delve deep into their areas of interest, like a specialty camp and still have time for outdoor play and fun games with friends, like a more traditional day camp. There are just 3 days of camp left, but already I can see that The Pea has learned so much.




Disclosure: Disclosure: Galileo Learning provided my daughter with a complimentary session at Galileo Summer Quest to facilitate my posts. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.