BOULDER — Six kids, ages 10 through 12, are 300 feet under the ocean. They are wearing dive suits made of coral, using swords and various spells to fight a giant crab.
Except the kids are actually at Willow Farm Park in Longmont, the swords are foam and the giant crab is their counselor, Chris Smith, running sideways and making crab noises.
It’s all part of Renaissance Adventures’ Summer Adventure Quests, a day camp for kids 6 to 16 that allows groups to play out interactive, imaginary quests filled with adventure. The Boulder-based company has multiple types of camps throughout Boulder County and beyond — half-day, whole-day, indoor camps and family adventures. In Longmont, the half-day Griffon Quests and whole-day Dragon Quests are offered.
On Tuesday, it was day two of a Griffon Quest camp. Three groups, divided by age, were at various ends of the park, negotiating with traders, fighting off crabs and deciding whether to trust a captured pirate. All the groups were led by a quest leader, helping them through the challenges and plot points.
The groups follow a loose script, acted out by their group leader, Smith said. But the kids get to decide whether to take certain actions, and the kids play rounds of “rock, paper, scissors,” with Smith to determine if certain actions result favorably or not.
“Sometimes things go really poorly,” he said of the turns the script can take.
Smith, who has served as a quest leader for seven years, said the scripts are designed to teach kids different skills. There are physical challenges, combat challenges (sword fighting), moral challenges and logical challenges. On Tuesday morning, his group decided whether to release a prisoner or leave him to die, steal or barter for certain items, sword-fight and solve a logic puzzle.
Aaron Pirnack, operations and publications director for Renaissance Adventures, said he’s created a lot of the scripts, but they are more templates than strict guidelines.
The camps have existed since 1995 and, according to the website, are designed to “develop self-esteem, team-building and creative problem-solving skills.”
The organization started as an after-school program and grew from there.
“I think once a kid comes to our camps, usually it’s one of their favorites,” Pirnack said. “They get empowered to play a character they craft themselves.”
Throughout the summer, the camp has three sites running at all times, and each site has 12 to 18 groups, with each group consisting of about six kids. In addition to summer camps, the company has grown to host private events and birthdays, holiday quests (such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and winter break), quests for families, corporate events and more.
