Summer Camp at the National Building Museum From a Camper's Perspective

Henry Bellew, age 9, has been a National Building Museum camper for the past two years. He hopes to be a politician when he grows up, but for now is enjoying learning about architecture.

What do you like about National Building Museum Summer Camp?
I really like that there are so many options. In the morning you do your basic core class and in the afternoon you have options like dream house, Lego city, and building with food. 

Can you describe something you got to build?
My dream house was really tall and it wasn’t too stable, but that helps you learn. The fact that you can build it and fix it makes it a really cool experience. 

What is your favorite activity that you did at camp?
I really think that Lego City Club was so interesting because you work on it all the time and think, well I didn’t finish this today, but I can work on it tomorrow. You also work as a team and think “what should I put here?” and that makes it really fun.

Did camp change the way you look at some of the world’s great structures?
Now I can look at everyday buildings and see how interesting they are. This is the best place to look at architecture. Walking around DC is great, but at this camp you can be in the classroom and then go out and be inspired by all the great architecture here.

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Two-week sessions for campers entering grades 3-5 in fall 2010.

Experience the world we build for ourselves in new ways—through the building, visual, and performing arts! Attend one, two, or three unique sessions of two week, full-day summer camp at the National Building Museum.  Visit the Summer Camp Webpage for more information.