No. Campers at Camp Quest are encouraged to think for themselves and are not required to hold any particular view. We do emphasize critical and scientific thinking over faith though.

Our 2010 session will be held July 18th - 24th

We are hosted by the wonderful folks at 4-H Camp Kidwell in Bloomingdale, Michigan. It is located between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids near Allegan. This camp ground has a waterfront for swimming and canoeing, nature trails, activity center, playing fields, among many other amenities. Campers also do ground initiatives and a high-ropes course. A long term goal is to acquire land and establish a permanent home for Camp Quest. Contributions are sought and welcomed.

There are other Camp Quests that use the name with permission, are also focused around skepticism of the supernatural and have a very similar program to Camp Quest Classic. For information about the dates and activities of the other Camp Quest locations please check out their websites listed below:

* Camp Quest of the Smoky Mountains -- July 25 - August 1

* Camp Quest West (Calif.) -- July 11 - July 17

* Camp Quest Minnesota -- July 25 - July 31

* Camp Quest Ontario – (information coming soon)

* Camp Quest Ohio -- June 19th - 26th

* Camp Quest Texas -- August 1 to August 7

* Camp Quest UK -- July 26 - July 30 (sold out) & Aug. 23 – Aug. 27

* Camp Quest Florida -- coming Winter 2010

What ages of children are eligible for Camp Quest?

Children ages 8 to 17 are welcome at Camp Quest.

We never want financial concerns to prevent a child from attending Camp Quest. We are very happy to work with parents to find a rate that is within their reach for their children. In 2009, five campers had either full or partial camperships. If the cost of camp is holding you back from registering, please let us know. We are happy to work with you discreetly.

The campers are given activities such as archery, astronomy, aviation, biology, campfires, canoeing, challenges, chess, computers, cooking, crafts (binders, drawing, bracelets, paper making, woodworking), creative writing, dancing, field trips, fossils, high ropes courses, horseback riding, nature centre, outdoor camping skills, overnight campout, photography, ropes challenge, scientific method and critical thinking, singing, song writing, sports (basketball, volleyball, soccer), story telling, swimming, theatre, tie dying, trolley walk & other cooperative games, tug of war, wall climbing, water balloon / sponge fights. You might also want to check out the pictures on our web site to get a visual feel for the experience.

There are some other important activities that we do every day but only take a few minutes at a time. After every other meal we do "famous freethinkers" where a counselor talks about two or three famous people (either living or dead) that were or are atheist/agnostic/humanist/skeptic/freethinking. Examples include Lance Armstrong, Isaac Asimov, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, Ted Turner and Alice Walker. At meals where we don't do that, we may cover world religions/philosophies.

Similarly, since most of our campers are raised in non-religious households, we offer objective discussions about religious beliefs. We feel it’s important to understand the views of others from a cultural standpoint. The lessons, while fun and aimed at kids, are academic and have a focus on tolerance and understanding. These are not "this is what is wrong with what these people think" sessions--that said, we do occasionally use examples from religions when talking about errors in critical thinking.

Attendance last year was 26 campers – our campsite has a capacity of about 50 campers plus staff. In 2009, Camp Quest Ohio held its largest camp with a total of 71 campers! Campers range in age from 8 to 17--they are fairly evenly distributed throughout that range. There is about a 2:1 ratio of girls to boys.

Despite the fact that we have an all volunteer staff, we have a wonderful group of returning counselors. In 2009, we had 12 staff members from a variety of backgrounds including an airline pilot, a physician, an engineer, a firefighter, a couple of nonprofit activists, an attorney, and several graduate students.

We have a staff application form on our web site and anyone is allowed to apply. Because we have so many excellent returning staff, we typically only accept one or two new staff members a year. We have accepted parents as counselors in the past, but we're very reluctant to do so. We feel campers get a lot more out of the experience if mom and dad are not at camp.

Yes! The State of Michigan has strict requirements on obtaining criminal background checks. We go beyond that by conducting checks on all staff (new and returning) every year.

Yes! Either send us an e-mail or fill out the information request form and put in the comments that you'd like to contact some past campers or parents.

There are two main ways to help out Camp Quest. The first is to donate. Donation money goes to help provide full or partial camperships to children who want to attend Camp Quest but need some financial assistance.

You can donate to the Helen Kagin Memorial Campership Fund by mailing a check to Camp Quest, Inc.; P.O. Box 2552; Columbus, OH 43216 and writing "Kagin Fund" in the memo.

The second way to help is to volunteer. At Camp Quest we have a fairly full slate of returning volunteer counselors, but it doesn't hurt to fill out a staff application to see if we might have need of your particular skills at a later session. The other Camp Quests located in other parts of the country may also need volunteer help. You can get to their websites by going to their websites. Contact them directly if you want to volunteer at any of the Camp Quests.

I want to contact someone about including Camp Quest in a media piece or publication that I am working on. Who should I contact?

Please email ohio@camp-quest.org if you are seeking information about Camp Quest for media or publication purposes. If you are seeking information about all of the Camp Quest programs, please email camp@camp-quest.org. Amanda Metskas, the Executive Director of Camp Quest Inc., would be happy to talk with you, or put you in touch with others who can give you the information you are looking for.