When I arrived here on the second Sunday of camp, the life of myself—who lives in Palisades, NY—seemed very different from the lives of the kids who live in Brooklyn.

Now that i have been hanging out with these kids for more than a week, our lives don’t seem that different. Of course, there are some obvious differences like school. I think their schools are different from my school at home because they have school in the middle of an exciting city, whereas I go to school in the middle of a small town called Blauvelt, NY. Plus back home we definitely do not get to school on a subway!

But there are more similarites, such as we are all in a similar age range: 7 -14. The younger bunks consist of kids who are 7-9. These are the Pulsar and Proton bunks. The kids who are the medium age are 10-12. These would be bunks that are called Nebula and Neutrino. The older bunks are 12-14. These bunks are the Quark and Quazar. These kids are all going through these tough things that are happening in the world such as global warming, the war in Iraq and the problems with food in Africa.

The kids from Brooklyn are different from my friends at home. This is a good thing because it is a break from my friends… not that I don’t like them.

—Ellie, 11, Nebula

• ugly the movie

The Poster Making domain is fun because you get to use spray paints and you have to make a group poster. Then, you think of a symbol, for instance, a peace sign.

Jon, the teacher who lives in NYC, found out about Beam camp from his friend Jan, who works at Beam. Unfortunately Jon is only here for a week. He said his favorite name for the poster is the Sloppy Hambuger Gang.

He said he started poster making because he wanted to teach the kids how to screen print. He likes teaching this domain because he says it has been fun and he can’t wait to see the results.

Jon likes the do-it-yourself attitude best about Poster Making. When I asked Jon, “If you could make a poster here, what would it be?” he said he would like it to have as much of the kids’ input as possible.

—Skylar, 9, Proton

Name: Prudence Katze
Age: 21
Bunk: Nebula
Hometown: Memphis, TN
Why she Chose Beam Camp: Prudence thought it would be a cool experience and because it is in New Hampshire
Hobbies: Underwater basket weaving
Job:

College student
Education: Cooper Union, NY
Talents: Whistling in the dark
Weird Habits: Waking up without an alarm
Favorite Food:Ethiopian food
Favorite Color: Freshly fallen snow
Pets: Basil plant
Siblings:

• The Nightmare Before Christmas rip

One brother and one half sister
Goals: To swim with manatees
Important events: Coming to Beam camp
Sports/Team: Camel racing, The Divine Sisterhood of the Sacred Bleeding Heart (Co-Counselor Emily’s kickball team)
Craziest Thing Done: Slept in a tree
Most Embarrassing Moment:

Forgetting piano notes
Happiest BEAM Moment: Singing by the campfire

—Interview by Eliana, 11, Nebula

Name:

Michael “Grandpa” Katz
Age: 36
Bunk: Neutrino
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Why he Chose Beam: He saw a posting for it on the internet
Hobbies: Listening and playing music, drawing, traveling, writing, and biking
Job: Computer Teacher
Education: Towson State University in Baltimore, MD
Special Talents: Playing the guitar and making music
Weird Habits: Snoring, laughing and talking in his sleep
Favorite Foods: Sushi and pizza
Favorite Color: Green
Pets: None
Siblings: Older sister, Jennifer and younger half sister Lauren
Goals: To make sure Teddy bathes and changes his clothes every day (Camper in Neutrino)
Important Events: Becoming an uncle and teacher
Favorite Sports: Basketball
Favorite Teams: Any New York teams
Craziest Things Done: Spent a week in the desert with 30,000 people
Most Embarrassing Moment:

None
Happiest When: Creating things and spending time with nieces

—Interview by Shea, 12, Nebula