"Adventuration" is the combination of adventure, imagination, creation and exploration that will take place at a new camp in Monkton this summer.
Delke Crouthamel, a physical education teacher at Charlesmont Elementary School in Dundalk, will run Camp Adventuration for boys and girls entering grades four through eight.
The list of weeklong camps includes Team Adventure, Wilderness Survival and Art, Nature and Adventure. Each session runs Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
There are five sessions of Team Adventure that start on June 18 and finish on Aug. 3. Each will have different activities and themes, but all will feature low ropes and high ropes courses, along with orienteering, fire-building and large group games.
"The kids are going to be very active," said Crouthamel, 28. "We're going to make this fun, even for kids who are not used to the outdoors."
The ropes courses include a series of eight tires hanging from steel cables strung between two trees. Crouthamel said the campers will be asked to traverse the tire course as a group, returning to start over if one of the group touches the ground.
"I like to give the kids both mental and physical challenges," he said.
His wife, Vicky, who teaches art at Brooklyn Park Elementary School, in Anne Arundel County, will run the Art, Nature and Adventure camp from July 16-20. Campers will make sculptures from found objects, make tie-dyed shirts, draw and paint, as well as be challenged by the ropes courses.
At Wilderness Survival camp from June 25-29, campers will learn how to make their own shelters, fires and camouflage, while also learning how to find their way through the woods using maps and compasses.
Scott Aumen, a 2002 Hereford High School graduate, is joining both Crouthamels at the camps this summer. He and Delke Crouthamel met at Towson University, where they both received degrees in physical education. Aumen teaches physical education at Deep Creek Elementary School, in Essex.
The two spent last summer sitting inside, writing curriculum for Baltimore County's physical education classes. This summer, they'll be outside, challenging kids physically and mentally.
"I enjoy the combination of getting kids to work together while they're having an adventure," Aumen said. "We'll have games that teach the importance of trust, honesty and forming good relationships."
Campers will use the facilities of Camp Dancing Bear off Blue Mount Road. They'll have access to 230 acres and daily use of a swimming pool there.
Al and Suzie Henneman own Camp Dancing Bear and Camp Running Bear. Suzie Henneman, a dance resource teacher for Baltimore County public schools, met Delke Crouthamel who had wanted to run a camp for several years.
"We're very excited they're going to be here," said Al Henneman. "I think the kids are going to love what they have planned."
Camp Adventuration will hold open houses at the camp in Monkton on March 11, April 29 and May 12 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
It will also have a booth at a Camp Fair at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Timonium on March 4 from noon to 3 p.m.
For more information, go to http://www.campadventuration.com, call 443-520-4787 or e-mail campadventuration@gmail.com.