YouTube’s Virtual Camp Will Keep Your Kids Entertained This Summer
2020 has been a record year for cancellations. Everything from weddings to film festivals to the Olympic Games has been either canceled or postponed until a safer time. As summertime hits full swing and schools—even the virtual kind—clock out until fall, kids’ summer camps can be added to a long list of things that just aren’t happening this year. Without a camp to go to, a lot of children and their parents are going to be looking for something to do as the long summer months roll on. In response to this unmet need, and to try and fill this time in a productive way for kids, YouTube is launching an online summer camp of its own.
#CampYouTube is a curated collection of what will eventually be over 1,200 educational, entertaining, and thought-provoking videos for curious kids of all ages. The virtual camp is divided into four different streams: STEM, Sports, Arts, and Adventure. Each stream has content designed for teens as well as children under 13. For example, in the STEM stream, teen camp attendees can learn about everything from coding to building a solar system model from fruit. In contrast, younger kids and their parents can learn weird science activities and biofacts.
The video content is selected from the best educational content creators on YouTube. Although I’m far from a teen myself, I still thought that the “How to build a robot” section within the teenage-focused STEM stream was really cool. #CampYouTube also has field trips that you can go on through high quality 360 videos. The trip through Alaska’s Glacier National Park was genuinely mind-blowing and an incredible way to learn about the effects of climate change.
The ‘Campfire Talk’ section of #CampYouTube is also a great way to start conversions about difficult subjects, like social justice and discrimination with your children.
So, while #CampYouTube probably won’t replace the full camp experience, it’s still a great, and free, way to keep your kids learning over the summer months. As Malik Ducard, VP of Content Partnerships, Learning, Social Impact, Family, Health, Film & TV at YouTube said, “We know this summer may be a bit different for a lot of us. However, with the help of creators on YouTube, we hope you and your families can experience the magic of camp from home!”
The content on #CampYouTube will be updated every weekday until Sunday, July 5th, but will be there to provide inspiration for fun, educational activities all summer long.