A Day in the Life of a LAUNCH Camper

In the morning, dive deep into interesting and engaging topics like rocketry, sustainability, and creativity. Gain hands-on experience in the subjects of your choosing. Connect with a diverse group of students. Unleash your creativity and discover. Afternoons will be filled with athletic and creative opportunities, with enough choice to inspire everyone:

• swimming in the lake or in the pools;
• doing ceramics
• photography
• dance or improv
• playing ultimate Frisbee
• hiking/biking the 15.9-mile Fairfield Loop Trail
• playing team/individual sports including basketball, soccer, and tennis
• or participating in Destination ImagiNation Instant Challenges.

We help kids gain confidence in themselves by providing opportunities for inner development, choice, and collaborative teamwork. All in a safe, engaging environment.

Instruction in the Transcendental Meditation® technique, practiced by all of our students and faculty, is available upon request. Teachers are available during summer camp. Additional charges of $360 apply.

Daily Schedule

7:30 am Wake up
7:45-9:00 am Dorm Room Clean up, Meditation (optional), BREAKFAST
9:00 am-12:00 pm Morning LAUNCH-Choice of Rocket, Creative, or Green LAUNCH
12:00-1:00 pm LUNCH
1:00-2:30 pm Activity Choices 1
2:30-4:00 pm Activity Choices 2
4:00-5:00 pm Relaxation/Meditation
5:00-6:00 pm Free Time
6:00-6:45 pm DINNER
6:45-9:30 pm Night Activity
10:00 pm Lights Out

For more information, contact summercamps@msae.edu

Our goal is to ensure that kids at LAUNCH have the best time ever!

Meet Our Camp Director

Brandon Hyde
A native of Fairfield, Mr. Hyde has driven from London to Mongolia, played basketball tournaments in Italy, sung for the Pope, and visited every professional baseball stadium in South Korea. He double majored in Social Studies Education and Vocal Performance and is a talented singer. As an educator, he has taught and consulted in the United States and in several countries in Asia and Europe. However, his first teaching position was at Maharishi School as a coach and educator, an influential start to his professional career. Currently, Brandon is the Director of a small school in southeast Iowa and working towards his Master’s Degree in Teaching Leadership.

Choose Your LAUNCH

Rocketry LAUNCH

Our rocketry program will include designing, building, and flying model rockets with designated altitude targets and time duration for a particular motor classification. We will measure the performance of our rockets against simulation to determine the success of the design. Participants will receive hands-on instruction from Rick Rudloff, an esteemed engineer and rocketeer who has taught rocketry for 10 years and led teams to partnerships with NASA. Last year Maharishi School was 4th in the U.S. in the Team America Rocketry Challenge and one of only 15 U.S. schools in the NASA Student Launch program.

Creativity LAUNCH

This highly innovative program will premiere this summer at LAUNCH! Destination ImagiNation (DI) is the world’s largest creativity and problem- solving competition, inspiring participants to think on their feet, work together and devise original solutions to solve mind-bending challenges. Last year Maharishi School students were World Champions at the DI Global Finals!
In our Creativity Launch track, participants will learn and practice creative quick-thinking skills called Instant Challenges, where they must solve an innovative challenge in 4-8 minutes. These activities develop students’ creative and critical thinking and their collaborative problem-solving skills will be tested. This section will be led by DI alumni from previous years.

Green LAUNCH

Fairfield has been acclaimed as one of the greenest towns in America. In our GreenLAUNCH, students will explore a variety of sustainability topics: green renewable energy, soil science, and water conservation techniques. Participants will get the opportunity to investigate the flow of nature on many levels and how each stage impacts us as humans. Minca Borg, who has a BS in Sustainable Living and a certificate in Urban Agriculture, has wilderness and survival knowledge and experience growing and supplying local produce, will be leading this crew.

LAUNCH Boarding

National magazines have cited Fairfield as “One of the ten most interesting small towns in America.” Fairfield is a unique community that combines the best traits of a traditional agricultural community with a sophisticated center of arts and culture. People from around the world have made Fairfield their home, bringing international restaurants, art galleries, and entrepreneurial businesses.

Boarding students will stay within walking distance of the town square in our newly renovated dormitory on the Maharishi School campus. The dormitory has 15 double rooms for students to share, a common area, and the dorm parent’s apartment. Camp Director Brandon Hyde will be the resident dorm parent and will be available 24/7, whenever students need assistance or support. He will also supervise the before-camp and after-camp activities, including English enrichment classes and special weekend trips.*

Deep conversations over dinner, impromptu jam sessions with the vocally talented Camp Director, pizza night and board games, ping-pong in the Student Center or badminton in the Recreation Center, walks through the woods, or organized  -campus weekend trips – these are some of the ways campers can relax and enjoy the company of their friends and counselors. New experiences, new friends, and new challenges shape campers into confident, independent kids.

*Non-boarding day students who practice the Transcendental Meditation program may join meditating boarding students at no additional charge, from 8-9am, and from 4-5pm. Non-boarding day students may join a weekend trip/activity for an additional $50 fee.

LAUNCH Details

LAUNCH Dates
Session 1: July 2-13
Session 2: July 16-27

LAUNCH Ages
Completion of grades 4-11

LAUNCH Hours
Day: 9:00 am -4:00 pm
Boarding: 24/7

LAUNCH Fees
Day, Non-Boarding
$400 for 2 weeks (includes breakfast & lunch)
$600 for 4 weeks

Boarding
$1200 for 2 weeks (includes full room and board plus all camp activities)
$2000 for 4 weeks

Early Bird LAUNCHers, pay the deposit of $100 by May 15 to receive a 10% discount off camp fees.

*For an additional $50, day campers may join boarders on weekends.
* For families sending multiple children, we will discount the price $50 for each additional child.

Download Launch Brochure and Registration here: Launch Brochure

QUESTIONS? Contact Brandon Hyde at summercamps@msae.edu