Other camps are fighting back by offering summer programs teaching evolution. In late June, the Unitarian Universalist Church in Fresno, Calif., sponsored the fourth season of Chalice Camp, a science camp that uses song, dance and drama to teach children about scientific discoveries about human origins. This is the inaugural season of Camp Inquiry, a weeklong camp for children 7 to 16 in western New York. For the camp’s Natural History Day, the 25 campers will participate in the “Creationism vs. Evolution” challenge, where they’ll go on a nature hike to learn about adaptation and evolution, take plaster casts of animal tracks to start a discussion of how humans are related to certain animal lines and study the arguments against intelligent design. Camp Quest, an atheist camp with several branches throughout the United States, teaches campers about evolution, as well as beekeeping, astronomy and the separation of church and state. “Our sense is that evolution isn’t being taught enough [in schools] or that people are becoming afraid to teach it,” says Chris Lindstrom, director of Camp Quest West.
Research shows that even camps that don’t have a particular spiritual mission might still increase spirituality in children: a 2005 American Camp Association study found that parents notice a statistically signif-icant increase in children’s spirituality levels after they’ve attended camp. Getting the kids outdoors apparently makes them appreciate nature and wonder who or what created it.
