Summer Camp 2025!
Join educators Kate Schiffman and Jenny Sholar for a summer exploring mythology and science from all over the world! Why do people tell myths? What do we tell myths about? How are myths different and the same across cultures? Your child will explore these questions and have hands-on experiences at Mythology Camp with Goldenrod Montessori!
Program dates: July 7-August 8 (5 weeks of programming)
Program duration: 8:00-3:00, Monday - Friday
Location: Hope Lutheran Church, 3702 County Hwy AB, McFarland, WI 53558
Ages: 6-11
Cost: $225/week for the first child and $175/week for subsequent children, with a discount for enrolling in all 5 weeks (+ a small bus fee--TBD)
Please note, the following schedule is a guideline, and weekly themes may be moved around as we finalize special guests.
Week 1: Prehistory
Travel back in time to the age of Cavemen as we explore the earliest roots of storytelling. What is a myth? Why did human beings start telling myths? We will learn survival skills, experiment with making pigments for our very own cave art, and make our own musical instruments. Potential field trips to the UW Geology Museum and UW Physics Museum.
Week 2: Water
This week, let’s set sail and learn about mythology surrounding water! We’ll learn about ecology and folklore both close to home and far away– from the Great Lakes all the way to Polynesia. We’ll learn about cultures based on rivers and on oceans, and experiment with building our own sailboats. Potential field trips include a day at the beach in Lake Kegonsa State Park, and a visit from some local shipwreck experts.
Week 3: Bugs
Bugs and insects may be small, but they’ve played a big role in myths all over the world! We’ll get a visit from some local entomologists and learn about mythology surrounding butterflies, dragonflies, spiders, and more. Then we’ll learn about cochineal bugs from Mexico and the role they played in creating dyes, and we’ll experiment with fabric dyeing with our very own dyes! Potential field trips include a visit to Olbrich Botanical Gardens to see the butterfly exhibit.
Week 4: Monsters
This week is all about monsters and cryptids! We’ll learn about mythological creatures from folklore traditions old and new: krakens, unicorns, hodags, yetis, sasquatches, dragons, mermaids….. and more! From there, we’ll invent our own cryptid, and write and stage a play based on our cryptid creations.
Week 5: Creation Myths
How did we get here anyway?? We’ll take a look at creation myths from all over the world, and learn about myths about the sun, moon and stars. We’ll explore the cosmos and learn about constellations, and the stories people tell about them. Finally we’ll make our own handheld planetariums