Boston Parents Paper

Description

In a delightful country setting on the campus of Dexter and Southfield Schools, minutes from downtown Boston, the Camps are centrally located on the Brookline-Boston line, a short distance from Routes 1 and 9, directly across from Larz Anderson Park. The 36-acre site includes playing fields, woods, shaded lunch areas, hockey rink, indoor tennis courts, a gymnasium, science labs, an astronomical observatory, and a computer center.

Other facilities include an auditorium with a stage as well as classrooms used for nature and music, an arts center, a woodworking shop, and an indoor/outdoor swimming facility with retractable skylights and sliding window walls which permits swimming on a daily basis regardless of the weather.

The Science and Technology Camp uses the Clay Center, a 5-story multi-purpose facility that includes dining and lecture halls, science and computer labs, a .6 meter Classical Cassegrain telescope under a 24-foot dome, a roof deck with a wind turbine and photovoltaic solar arrays supplementing the building’s electrical power, and an AWS automated weather system.

The Enrichment Camp uses an air-conditioned classroom building that includes computer and music labs equipped with Smart® Technology boards. Additional resources include scanners, video-capture devices, digital cameras, learning activity software, and color Laser printers.

Marine and Sailing campers stay at Briarwood Marine Science Center, conveniently located on Little Bay, just over the Bourne Bridge, an hour and a quarter from Boston.

Briarwood, an estate developed as a conference center in 1945, was acquired by Dexter and Southfield Schools in 1999 as a field station for marine and environmental studies. Adjacent to 90 acres of conservation land and 2000 feet of shoreline, the main buildings contain conference areas and a dining room seating 60.

Other buildings include a classroom facility, dining area, seven heated cabins, a bathhouse, and a marine lab near the shore. Nature trails wander through adjoining woods, and a boat dock and swimming float are in place for use during the warmer months.

The marine lab is outfitted with touch tanks, several large aquarium tanks, collection and sampling equipment, and water testing apparatus. Additional resources include computers, printers, digital cameras, and a fleet of sailboats and kayaks.

The sailing fleet has boats ranging from 8 to 22 feet. A variety of open cockpit sailboats are available for beginners. The Optimist is a small, gaff-rigged sailboat with a single mainsail, perfect for intermediates and for advanced sailors who want to sail solo. The Corinthian is a 19-foot boat with a wide, deep cockpit capable of holding up to 4 sailors and an instructor.