The Hive summer camp

The BIG idea: the hive connects campers with deCordova’s 30-acre Sculpture Park and Museum exhibitions to explore real world ideas, unbounded creativity, and inspiring innovation. The five weekly themes are starting points to spark imaginative possibilities that campers make their own with the week’s project. Each week culminates with campers designing and constructing an ambitious sculpture installation in the Park.

2020 Inspiration: This summer, inspiration comes from 180 years ago. Vibrant, insightful, experimental, cross-disciplinary, and hands-on making philosophies – sounds just like the hive, right? Transcendentalists of the 1840s as well as contemporary artists of the summer exhibition, Visionary New England, will ignite new possibilities for activating both the past and the future. Plus, world-renowned artist Andy Goldsworthy’s new installation in the Park will inspire campers to look at nature and capture its energy and beauty in pioneering ways!

Why the hive? A week at the hive is more than art making. It’s about communicating, problem solving, celebrating individuals, seeing from new perspectives, and coming together to accomplish challenging goals. It’s a week when friendships are forged and confidence is built. Each camper’s personal interests and unique abilities are welcomed and everyone learns from each other. The campers’ joyful pride in their accomplishments is shared with family and friends each week at the Friday Celebration

STEM/STEAM concepts are embedded throughout the hive.  This interdisciplinary immersion relates to real world problem solving and erases the artificial lines typically drawn between the arts, the sciences, and other fields. Large-scale, collaborative projects parallel the joint work of artists, engineers, curators, and landscape designers that informs the Sculpture Park. Active indoor and outdoor explorations invite all learning styles to be engaged and contribute equally.

Full day program runs 9:30 am–4:30 pm. Early drop-off available at 8:30 am.