Camp Quest UK is a residential secular humanist summer camp that offers children aged 7-17 the chance to ponder the bigger questions in life in an environment of inquisitive peers. We provide a range of stimulating mental and physical activities for our campers, encouraging them to marvel at the universe, develop a critical eye and a love of learning.
We aim
1. To provide mental and physical challenge
2. To create a culture of curiosity
3. To build a community of freethinkers
Activities
Camp Quest UK aims to provide a range of physical, mental and creative activities. These change from year to year, depending on the facilities at the host camp site and the individual expertise of our staff.
We aim to get a balance of outdoor activities and more cerebral sessions covering topics like philosophy, science and critical thinking. Typical sessions include: Philosophy for Children (P4C), astronomy, logical fallacies, pseudoscience, discussions on the big questions in life, and workshops on science-related issues.
Typical outdoor activities include: archery, zip wire, climbing, high ropes, canoeing, rafting, the Great Wall, air rifle shooting, mountain biking, night line, abseiling and the assault course.
Guest Speakers
Our past speakers have included Chris French, AC Grayling, Hayley Stevens and the Uganda Humanist Association. We try to invite speakers relevant to the year’s theme.
Themes
Each year Camp Quest UK has a different theme. Past themes have been:
2009: Evolution – The life and work of Charles Darwin, and how creatures respond to different selection pressures.
2010: The Mind – Critical thinking and how the mind works.
2011: What is Science? – Defining what science is. Comparing pseudosciences with hard and soft science.
2012: Humanity and Language – Building a creation story. Exploring how language affects what we think. What really makes a human?
2013: The Future – What does the future hold, and in what ways will it change how we live?
2014: Worlds within our World – From different ecosystems, to the very big and very small.
2015: Artificial Intelligence – Thinking about Asimov’s law of robotics and the implications for a future that is increasingly being run by machines.
2016: Individual Differences – Why are people different? Exploring the things that make us weird.
2017: Space – Imagining how creatures on another planet might have evolved. Building rockets. Making our own galaxies.
2018: Thought – What is a mind? Exploring some of the tricks our mind plays on us. Considering what thought is for.