https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/you-quit-how-get-most-out-your-summer-camp

I had just finished running a marathon and had flopped onto the grass to rest. I was so tired that I hadn’t registered that the tired runner sitting next to me was a former camp counselor. He had...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/four-cs-great-summer-camp

At its best, summer camp is a silly, spirited place. A place where the group who cooks the best outdoor meal wins a metal spoon that has been spray-painted gold (the golden spoon! ooooh, aaaaah);...

https://www.acacamps.org/news/press-release/breakthrough-study-outlines-benefits-camp-experience

Camp provides a unique and important setting that supports mental health, while creating time away from technology, building key skills like resilience and confidence in youth and young adults. To...

https://www.acacamps.org/resources/campcounts-2022-report

CampCounts 2022 is the latest iteration of ACA’s annual business and industry research survey, which aims to support camp professionals in their operational decision-making and to support ACA’s...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/camp-research-methods-where-have-we-been-where-are-we-going

A review of the first camp researcher gathering at the 2023 ACA national conference in Orlando

https://www.acacamps.org/resources/staffing-compensation-benefits-report

Each year, the American Camp Association (ACA) surveys its members about specific areas of their camp operations and makes the results available so camps can benchmark their business practices.

https://www.acacamps.org/research/camp-research/history

View all our past research initiatives.

https://www.acacamps.org/research/special-projects/camp-program-quality-initiative

Funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., ACA began a special project to explore and develop systems that support camp professionals in promoting positive youth development through camp experiences.

https://www.acacamps.org/research/continuous-improvement

At ACA, we believe in continuous improvement. We believe that our work for young people is not conceptualized in boxes or checklists; instead, we think about our work in a cyclical way—a way that...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/enhancing-inclusion-campers-sensory-processing-concerns-through-camp-counselor-training

Summer camps provide children an opportunity for goal achievement, a sense of community, and development of self-concept. Toward that end, goal-directed camp activities revolve around teamwork, as...