Institute Takes Summer Camp to a New Level 

     Olivia rolls out of bed, and zips up her sleeping bag.  She gets dressed, laces up her hiking boots, and heads to the dining hall.  After a good breakfast, she straps on her backpack and gets ready for another outdoor adventure.

     Each day, she looks forward to splashing through the cool streams in the warm summer sun, hiking to places of breathtaking beauty, and joining her new friends by the firelight under a sky filled with stars.

     By now, you’ve probably guessed that Olivia is at summer camp.

     Not exactly.

     She’s at Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont in east Tennessee.

     GSMIT is an environmental education center that brings children and adults to the national park to learn hands-on science, natural history, and simple appreciation for nature. 

     Tremont’s summer enrichment programs are gaining popularity as families demand more than what public schools and traditional summer camps offer.

     GSMIT Executive Director Ken Voorhis is the father of three home-schooled children.  He’s excited to be part of a program that caters so well to the needs of his own family.

     “The experience that Tremont provides is an ideal fit with the objectives of most home schoolers,” he says.

     “Our program and methodologies are experience and inquiry based.  We try to nurture the idea that education encompasses our everyday learning experience and that within creation we find incredible opportunities to explore, grow, and learn.”

     Special Events Director Amber Parker calls it, “summer camp with an attitude.”

     “We combine campfires and games with the opportunity to work alongside scientists doing research in the national park,” Parker says.

     “Kids who come to Tremont want their summer experience to be challenging and exciting.  They want more than pretty pictures to take with them when they roll up the sleeping bag and head home.”

     Information about programs is available at www.gsmit.org or at (865) 448-6709.

     This summer, the institute is offering “Naturalist Expeditions” in which children ages 12-17 can sign up for stays of 6-10 days and choose what they want to focus on.

     Kids can delve into the Smoky Mountain forests, discovering the plants and animals that call them home. 

     They can spend their days hiking the coves, fields, and streams in search of reptiles and amphibians to study.

     Another track gives participants a chance to study Southern Appalachian black bears, learning from scientists who are now conducting actual research in the national park.

     “A Naturalist’s Notebook” will take children outdoors, teach them natural history, then show them how to use art and journaling to document it.

     In addition, the institute offers a challenging Teen Science Camp and opportunities for intense overnight backpacking trips, led by degreed, experienced guides. 

     Don’t think Tremont is taking all the fun out of summer camp.  Kids who take part in these programs return year after year to learn and grow and enjoy summer to the fullest.

     “Tremont challenges some of them in a way they’ve never been challenged before,”  says Parker.

     “That means, at the end of their stay, they may have a greater sense of accomplishment than they’ve ever had before!”    

     These outdoor adventures have become a regular part of Olivia’s life.

     “This camp is one of the greatest things I’ve ever experienced,” she says.

     “I am so sad when I leave…I always cry!”

     Brochures are available on the GSMIT website, www.gsmit.org.  You may also order them by phone at (865) 448-6709.