Your child clips on a name tag, picks up a schedule with four stops, and heads out with a new friend. Before the first snack, there is grass on both knees, glue on one thumb, and a story that cannot wait until pickup.
DEAN Trailblazers Camp rotates each camper through four specialties daily. Counselors lead each one, teach safe tool, kitchen, and outdoor trail habits, and stay with their group throughout. Our four pillars, built on the letters in DEAN, guide campers as they learn and grow across every activity:
- Discover - Connect & Grow: Campers find new skills, interests, and friends from the first activity rotation of the week.
- Explore - Experiment & Try: Campers step into all four activities and learn specialized skills and techniques.
- Achieve - Complete & Improve: Campers finish projects, reach the end of the hike, score in the game, and give every task their best effort.
- Navigate - Choose & Plan: Campers learn the ropes in each specialty and see which path fits them, which may lead to a specialty camp next.
Across the four daily activity blocks, campers use one method: try it, check it, adjust it. At school, that habit makes an unfamiliar assignment something to start instead of avoid. Campers show perseverance by sticking with a task that does not work yet, resilience by starting over when the plan doesn’t work out, and friendship by learning and sharing along the way.
Campers practice measuring a cup of flour, identifying a tree, building a bridge, and reading a compass. Your child will leave with a go-to recipe, a piece of art to display, and newfound confidence.
SKILLS & TECHNIQUES
Campers discover what excites them. Maybe it's the adventure of an outdoor challenge, the spark of building something that lights up or moves, the joy of creating art that tells a story, or the pride of tasting a dish made from scratch. Every rotation plants a seed, helping campers begin to imagine where their camp journey might take them next.
Guided by enthusiastic counselors, campers practice collaboration as they work side by side with friends, creativity as they bring ideas to life, and resilience as they try new things with courage and curiosity.
By week's end, campers leave with new skills, new friendships, and the confidence that comes from knowing they can make, create, and discover in so many exciting ways!
GENERAL DAILY SCHEDULE
HOURS

TRAILBLAZERS DISCOVERERS (RISING PREK-K)
One deep breath at the door, a counselor’s warm hello, and a camper who is ready to go!
Campers become explorers as they set off daily to discover what they will learn in Art, Innovation Lab, Culinary Arts, and Outdoor Adventure. They paint with bold colors, stack towers that won’t topple, don aprons to whip up a delicious snack, climb and balance, splash and pour, and hunt for bugs and leaves. Water activities run every day, weather permitting. Projects change every week, and skills build on the last, so campers who return keep discovering something new.
Counselors greet every camper by name, show them the way, stay close through every activity, and know first days bring big feelings for children and parents alike. Taking turns and playing beside friends builds confidence and curiosity. At the end-of-week showcase, campers proudly show or display what they made and learned, from artwork to experiments. This play-based Discoverers program teaches fine and gross motor skills, coordination, early science thinking, and following simple steps, behind playgrounds, kitchens, and gardens, all through an explorer’s passport. Hands and minds that practice together are ready for writing a first name, cutting along a line, and turning the pages of a favorite book.

TRAILBLAZERS EXPLORERS (1ST-2ND)
Ready to try it all?
Trailblazers Explorers invites campers to dive into a week of discovery, creativity, and growing confidence. Through daily specialty rotations like Outdoor Adventure, Innovation Lab, Art, and Culinary Arts, campers explore new skills, ask questions, and begin discovering what truly excites them.
With supportive counselors encouraging independence, campers tackle outdoor challenges, design and build projects that test ideas, create art with intention, and cook simple dishes from start to finish. Activities offer structured choices, giving campers space to experiment, problem-solve, and explain their thinking while learning how effort and teamwork lead to success.
Along the way, campers build confidence as they try new strategies, collaboration as they work with peers, and perseverance as they stick with challenges. At the Friday Showcase, campers proudly present their projects, celebrating new skills, creative thinking, and accomplishments they’re excited to share.

TRAILBLAZERS ACHIEVERS (3RD-4TH)
Ready for bigger challenges and bold ideas?
Trailblazers Achievers invites campers to take on hands-on adventures that encourage deeper thinking, teamwork, and persistence. Through daily specialty rotations like Outdoor Adventure, Innovation Lab, Art, and Culinary Arts, campers dive into meaningful projects that challenge them to plan, test ideas, and build skills across a wide range of experiences.
Guided by counselors acting as coaches, campers tackle outdoor challenges that require strategy and cooperation, design and refine building projects, create art with intention, and cook dishes that demand sequencing and attention to detail. Projects are often collaborative and multi-step, giving campers opportunities to revise their work, solve problems, and reflect on the process.
Along the way, campers build perseverance as they stay with challenges, collaboration as they take on group roles, and confidence as they see their ideas come to life. At the Friday Showcase, campers take pride in presenting their work, sharing the results of a week of focus, teamwork, and growth.

TRAILBLAZERS NAVIGATORS (5TH-7TH)
Ready to take the lead in your own adventure?
Trailblazers for older campers invites participants to explore boldly, think deeply, and push their skills further. Through daily specialty rotations like Outdoor Adventure, Innovation Lab, Art, and Culinary Arts, campers take on dynamic challenges that encourage independence, creativity, and purposeful exploration.
With counselors acting as facilitators and coaches, campers plan and tackle outdoor challenges, design and refine complex builds, create art that reflects personal vision, and cook dishes requiring coordination, timing, and teamwork. Activities are challenge-based and choice-driven, empowering campers to set goals, adapt strategies, and take ownership of their learning while collaborating with peers.
Along the way, campers build agency as they make decisions and lead their work, collaboration as they navigate group dynamics, and resilience as they adapt and persist through challenges. At the Friday Showcase, campers confidently share their creations and ideas, celebrating a week of leadership, growth, and accomplishments they truly own.
Passport to YUM
the world of sweet imagination
is it cake?
DEAN Camps - Premium summer day camps serving Haverford, PA (Main Line/Philadelphia area) and Lawrenceville, NJ (greater Princeton). Specialty programs for ages 4-16 include woodworking, machine sewing, culinary arts, STEAM, performing arts, design & style, writing & illustration, sports & games, and Trailblazers, plus CIT leadership development. Full-day care with breakfast, lunch, and snacks included. Serving families from Bryn Mawr, Ardmore, Radnor, Princeton, Hopewell, and surrounding communities since 2001. Call 610-660-9600.
