Adventures: Why Choose DMA
Kids Summer Program
Experienced Instructors & Industry Professionals
DMA invests heavily in developing and maintaining a full roster of top-notch instructors, with many staff members returning year after year.
● DMA’s lead instructors are older, more experienced and professional, and are paid more than teachers at other tech camps. (Want more background on DMA instructors? Please visit our
Instructor Bio pages.)
● DMA’s instructors include outstanding technology educators, veteran teachers and industry professionals who have a genuine passion for the subject and a demonstrated skill for teaching and inspiring young learners.
● At DMA, we believe that dynamic and passionate individuals with several years of industry experience are simply better equipped to lead and teach your child than college or graduate students. Our instructors are seasoned pros, and the caliber of the staff shows in their teaching expertise.
Separate Classroom & Residential Staffs
Unlike most other technology camps, DMA provides separate classroom and residential staffs.
● Instructors focus exclusively on delivering world-class instruction while counselors and additional staff are totally focused on making the rest of the DMA camp experience as ideal as possible for your child.
● Instructors and assistant instructors run the daily class experience, while on-site Youth Activities Counselors are there full-time during evening and weekends to supervise residential campers. This ensures that all DMA staff members are fresh and rested every day, and always able to keep up with energetic youngsters.
Real-World Experience, Real Fun
Children advance by building skills that have real-world use. DMA’s student campers are not just learning about video game design or 3D animation–they make them! Students get instruction from actual video game designers and 3D animators.
● Kids learn from technology educators who enjoy working actually work in the subjects that they teach, campers get real-world experience that’s incredibly useful as they develop and grow as kids.
● At DMA, it’s our goal to inspire kids to reach their full potential, in an atmosphere of personal discovery, where learning goes hand-in-hand with fun times in and out of the classroom.
Qualified, Experienced Assistants
In addition to superb instructors, each season DMA carefully selects energetic and personable teaching assistants who understand kids as well as technology.
● DMA’s TAs are responsible young adults, most are 21 or over and work great with kids.
● DMA’s TAs are undergraduate college students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, arts and media-related majors. (Our TAs are typically older and more experienced than what many other tech camps consider “lead instructors”!)
● With a combination of professional lead instructors and talented TAs, Adventures campers get a better overall learning experience. This unique arrangement is part of the DMA difference—and you won’t find it at other major tech camps.
DMA’s innovative curriculum promotes an interactive learning environment for Adventures campers. This learning experience is designed to engage students’ active participation through hands-on, project-based learning.
● DMA’s courses are structured to enable our instructors to individualize the learning experience for each student.
● DMA supports this by strictly maintaining a 6:1 student-to-staff ratio—which is the lowest of any technology camp.
● Lots of one-on-one instructional time, which directly promotes a stimulating and successful class experience for each student.
Some tech camps say they allow kids to learn at their own pace. What that really means is that to maximize attendance, they use curriculum modules designed to accommodate a wide range of campers. In those camps, students get help from instructors when getting started and then receive occasional assistance along the way when they get stuck.
However, the fact is that kids are left largely to learn on their own. Some computer camps even use online tutorials. DMA Adventures program never cuts corners. DMA provides world-class professional instruction because you’re paying for the best possible experience for your child, and that’s exactly what we strive to deliver.
Improving the Experience
After each camp season concludes, DMA’s curriculum team pores over feedback collected from students, parents and staff. That input is then processed and integrated for the betterment of each program.
Led by DMA’s Director of Instruction (formerly with Apple Education), DMA uses student feedback and insight from an advisory team of leading instructors to refine and improve all programs. In addition, DMA’s curriculum assessment team reviews the latest and most relevant topics and technology trends related to each DMA course offering.
From there, DMA begins the process of selecting and developing new programs, as well as updating and strengthening existing courses. This is a year-round process of constant improvements that allows DMA to stay on the cutting edge of technology camps—and prepares DMA to offer fun, engaging and challenging learning experiences during the next summer’s camp season.
Building Kids’ Confidence
Students arrive at DMA as fresh-faced campers but leave as budding young creators and designers. It’s amazing to see how much kids learn and develop in one week (or during multiple sessions)—young minds relishing the sense of accomplishment they gain through making their very own creations.
Whether your child is a video gamer, aspiring photographer, filmmaker or programmer (or is brand new to the field of digital media), you’ll be amazed at the intense satisfaction they get from attending DMA and creating their own digital media projects.
● Kids get a strong sense of accomplishment that carries over into their academic work once they return home and go back to their school.
● DMA doesn’t just develop creators and designers…but also better students overall.
Hot Technology Topics, Field-based Projects
this sentence is in the copy Vince gave me to put in online: For a complete listing of what’s new among DMA programs, please see a complete list of new DMA Adventures courses for 2013.
DMA offers more than 15 weeklong camps designed specifically for kids! Click here for a complete listing of what’s new.
Something for Everyone (And Fun for All!)
Don’t let the hi-tech classroom atmosphere fool you: DMA’s programs are developed to promote the kind of summertime fun that can only be found at camp.
● Recreational activities include soccer, Ultimate Frisbee and Frisbee golf, volleyball, basketball, nature hikes, board games and the chance to explore our beautiful and scenic campuses.
● Evening recreation for Adventures campers at our Stanford location* includes fun activities like movie nights, board-game extravaganzas, visits to local attractions, ice cream parties, tie-dye t-shirt making and video game tournaments.
● Youth Activities Counselors are professional and personably–they get to know your child as an individual, and create a fun-filled week of adventure tailored just for them.
For campers staying multiple weeks, weekend recreation at Stanford is packed with planned and organized activities like bowling, miniature golf, professional baseball games, trips to the Great America amusement park, Lazer Tag®, video arcades and more!
*Weekend and overnight stays for Adventures-age campers are only available at DMA’s Stanford location. Activities vary depending on the interests of campers and availability.
A Well-Balanced Camp Day
DMA’s Adventures program is balanced with in-class learning and outdoor fun. We take pride in our program being more academically driven than other tech camps, but at the same time we recognize that children need physical activity, outdoor exploration and fun times with their classmates to have a truly fulfilling camp experience.
Breaks: In addition to lunch, DMA provides Adventures campers with two breaks each day. During these times, kids can play with their new friends or take part in a wide range of recreational activities.
State-Of-The-Art Technology
What better way to excite kids than by letting them work with today’s leading technology? which gives Adventures campers the opportunity to work with brand new film and photography equipment and industry-standard software.
● Each student has their own Apple computer and workstation to use during class.
● Students don’t share computers (although we strongly encourage collaboration).
● DMA uses only the latest versions of cutting-edge software.
● DMA is proud to be partnered with many industry-leading technology companies (such as Apple and Canon),
Click here for a complete list of DMA’s technology partners.
When you send your child to camp at DMA, we take our responsibility for their safety extremely seriously. We’re parents, just like you, and we understand this sacred trust—to that end, we intensively train and each and every staff member on safety procedures to ensure they intimately understand how to perform critically important lifesaving actions during any possible emergency situations.
Trustworthy Management & Qualified Staff
Live-in residential staff are adults over the age of 21, all who have been fully trained in CPR lifesaving techniques.
● To work for DMA, all staff must complete and pass comprehensive state and federal background checks.
● All staff must complete and pass an extensive risk-management and safety-training program.
On Site Security
DMA observes a strict security system to ensure our staff always know where your child is and what they are doing.
● DMA uses a secure check-in/check-out procedure for day campers.
● Each child in the Adventures program must be picked up by an authorized adult, who is required to present valid photo identification.
● To protect Adventures campers enrolled in the overnight and weekend programs, external access to dorm building is restricted at all times, with dorm doors remaining locked for additional safety.
Residential Safeguards
DMA counselors live in the dorm with the Adventures campers in order to maintain constant supervision and student safety. Counselors are housed in their own separate rooms located on the same floor as the kids under their supervision.
● DMA uses the “buddy system” to ensure children’s safety and comfort during their stay.
● Campers are housed together in single-, double- or triple-occupancy rooms. Housing assignments are created based on gender and age. If your son or daughter is coming to DMA with a friend and they wish to room together, let us know when you are registering them for class. When possible, we are happy to accommodate these roommate requests.
● Bedtimes are set with campers’ ages in mind, ensuring students are well rested and alert for each new day of class.
DMA’s counselors are fully trained in emergency procedures and are familiar with that building’s emergency exits and evacuation routes, in the unlikely event of an emergency.
Immediate Medical Access
DMA programs are only held at the nation’s most prestigious universities. So, in the unlikely event of a medical emergency, we have fast access to some of the finest university hospitals in the world.
● DMA residential staff members are trained in how to facilitate immediate medical care should an urgent situation arise. (Minor injuries may be treated on site.)
● If you ever need to reach your child (for whatever reason), each of DMA’s Youth Activities Coordinators is accessible at all times by cell phone. And, of course, parents are notified immediately in the case of any injury or illness.
● Medications are administered under the supervision of the Camp Director.
Online Safety & Interactive Content
DMA understands parents have concerns about what their kids are exposed to online. As parents, DMA shares those same concerns and has put a number of safeguards in place to protect your child in the classroom.
● While promoting a sophisticated pre-high-school experience for our Adventures campers—DMA strictly enforces a policy of “no adult-oriented content” when campers play computer and video games, or surf the Internet during free time.
● DMA uses special software to protect kids from harmful Internet content.
● DMA does not allow Adventures campers to play M-rated video games. All software and video games used in DMA’s programs carry age-appropriate ratings.
● DMA instructors encourage Adventures campers to create positive and age-appropriate projects.
