Summer camps: Doodle vs. Galileo vs. EDMO?
I have 2 6-year old boys (entering 1st in the fall). I'm looking around at the different "maker"-types of summer camps. Does anyone have any experience and/or recommendations between these three: Doodle vs. Galileo vs. EDMO? Is there any other that I'm missing that I should also be considering?? Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Jan 12, 2022
Parent Replies
I keep detailed reviews of my two kids' camp experiences so that I can remember which ones we liked and didn't like, and happy to share my notes about Galileo and Edmo with you! Apparently we did both just one time. Direct from my records:
Camp Edmo, our location was MLK Jr High Berkeley. K-5. 2017.
My rising 4th grader did this weeklong camp, which is on the pricey side (around $400 for 9-3). Monday dropoff, when they cram all the kids (4 groups, age 5-12) into the “free time room”, nobody greeted him, and a counselor - when pressed what card game they were playing - said “BS.” However, my Minecraft obsessed son loved the Minecraft program, and I’m sure will want to do it again. They do mix it up and play outside games too, so it’s not entirely in front of a screen all day. To me it feels a lot like Galileo, rallies, camp challenges, etc.
Galileo. K-6th grade. 2016. A national chain with HQ in Oakland. Our site was Jefferson Elementary in Berkeley.
Galileo calls itself a science camp, but it’s more accurately characterized as a maker camp or - for the littlest group - crafting camp. My 5 yo said she hated it after the first day which warmed up to “It was… okay” by the last day. My 7 yo was consistently enthusiastic until the last moments of the last day, when he had a very frustrating experience (he cried) with his group’s capstone project, that honestly I think one of the millions of young energetic staffers floating around could have quickly and easily addressed. Lots of potential with the model and you can’t say they’re not throwing lots of resources at it, but somehow doesn’t quite add up into the world’s most awesome camp experience. (5 yo also pointed out her group did a lot of sitting and watching the counselors do “shows”. ???) We might repeat down the road, particularly for 7 yo; I’m on the fence. It’s also pretty expensive - rack rate $419 for a week of 9-3. Huge camp, 70+ kids. Tip: On the last day of the last week of camp at that location, they let you take home unused supplies. 5 yo said this was the best part of her week at Galileo...
My son's all time favorite camp might be EDMO. He loved it. The Alameda location was fun and engaging. He liked the maker stuff and also the camp stuff - singing, games, etc. He found Galileo a bit less engaging.