Period 1

Climate Inspiration (Rachel Burton)
Calling all Earth defenders! Hope is a renewable resource! We’ll look at youth climate activists and grassroots environmental movements, then practice the teamwork, creativity, and collaboration it takes to become thoughtful Earth defenders in our own communities.

Emergency Response (Jenn Conner)
It’s the year 3025, and the world has changed—but you and your crew are ready. Using a legendary survival book left behind by the famous Dr. Jessica, you’ll team up daily to tackle hands-on challenges that test your ability to survive, help others, and complete high-stakes emergency response missions with whatever supplies you can find.

How to Read Poetry Out Loud (Phil Blank)
Learn how to recite Whitman by reading it to someone across the street, or how interjections from audience members makes everything way more fun, or how everyone reciting a poem at the same time is actually liberating. Rhythm, song, humor - we'll do it all.

I'm Alright (Lamont Holley)
Learning to love who you are, as you are is a lifelong journey. In this class we will use mindfulness and self awareness tools to activate that journey. The activities are geared towards participants being able to actively be able to moderate their behaviors and environments to be 'alright' in different situations.

Nomic (Helen Tynes)
This is a game where the rules are the game. Players take turns proposing, changing, and voting on the rules themselves, slowly transforming how play—and winning—works. Expect debate, strategy, and the strange realization that democracy is harder than it looks.

Oral Storytelling (Dylan Bradley)
Stories were spoken long before they were written down. We’ll tell them the old-fashioned way—out loud, from memory, and with nowhere to hide when they go off the rails.

Paleoart (Natasha Tylosky)
Did you know artists help shape how we imagine the past? Paleontology isn’t just about bones—it’s also about interpretation. We’ll study scientific evidence from real extinct animals and create our own visual reconstructions to explore how they might have lived and moved through their world.

Poetry (David Dykes)
Read and write poetry. We'll look at poetic technique, read some of my and your favorite poems, and spend some time composing and reading our own work.

Sappho: 3,000 Years Young (Thomas Robinson)
We’ll read poetry by the Greek poet Sappho (in translation) and explore what her work reveals about desire, identity, and interpretation. We’ll look at how readers across history have loved and resisted her, then write our own adaptations and share them in a group reading.

Shared Universe (Emmett Haruch & David Kyser)
A fun, creative class where writers and artists team up to build one shared universe! Together, we’ll create connected stories and artwork that come together in an exciting final collection to showcase at the end of the week.

What's in a journal? (Spencer Page)
Make an art journal with found paper, learn to bind it in a book, and fill it with some doodley collage and drawings. Expand your idea of what can be a journal.

What's Up w/ Berea? (Graham Marema)
Berea has been doing its own thing for a long time. We’ll explore the college, the town, and the regional history around it, tracing how Southern culture, craft, and big ideas ended up meeting in one unlikely place.

Period 2

AICL Literary Journal (Graham Marema)
Writers of flash fiction, poetry, creative personal essays, and advice columns - come together to write and produce AICL's annual literary journal.

Cartography (Helen Tynes)
With compass in hand and curiosity doing most of the work, we’ll learn how to read, draw, and design maps of real and imagined places. Expect close observation, spatial thinking, and the power to turn “we’re lost” into “we meant to come this way.”

Crochet! Chrochet! Chrochet! (Lamont Holley)
Start with a hook and a length of yarn. End with a real object that didn’t exist before. Along the way, we’ll learn stitches, patterns, and the quiet magic of turning repetition into form. All levels welcome.

Handmade Hand Bags (David Kyser & Emmett Haruch)
Bike tires, scraps, and second chances. Discarded materials become functional bags, inviting experimentation with structure, durability, and design choices that don’t play it safe.

Italian Neorealism (Dylan Bradley)
Dive deeply into the depths of Italian Neorealism. We will define and discuss the genre then enjoy exemplars. We might even practice some writing and film-making, time and dispositions allowing.

Live Action Sitcom (Jeremy Williams)
Laugh tracks not included. We’ll write, rehearse, and perform short sitcom-style scenes, learning the timing, structure, and collaboration it takes to make something funny on purpose—sometimes even on the first take.

Marble Roller Coaster (Matthew Perkins)
Start with a marble and a pile of materials. Add gravity, trial and error, and a willingness to rebuild. Along the way, we’ll learn how speed, angles, and momentum turn ideas into moving machines.

Science of Goo - Advanced (Rachael Burton)
Goo gets interesting when you ask why. We’ll experiment with sticky, stretchy materials while digging into the science of polymers, reactions, and material properties. Using upcycled objects and hands-on experiments, we’ll explore how waste becomes resource, how matter behaves, and why goo refuses to follow the rules.

Scrappy Sculpture (Spencer Page)
Ever wonder what we could make with the weird stuff we accumulate? We'll use scrappy materials (found object, paper mache, cardboard, wire, and more!) to design and build sculptures. Learn about modern sculptural art history and the scrappiest of famous sculptors.

The Search for Happiness (Lane Demaske)
What is happiness, anyway—and who decided how to measure it? This class explores different ways people try to find happiness, from mental habits to physical practices, with time spent on reflection, gratitude, and simple meditation along the way.

Spanish (David Dykes)
Conversation first, perfection later. We’ll practice everyday Spanish through listening, speaking, and low-pressure repetition, building confidence one phrase at a time. Poco a poco, sin miedo—accents welcome, mistakes expected.

Statistics & Narratives (Natasha Tylosky)
Statistics shape how we collectively think about the world, but what is it really? In this class we will go over the fundamentals of statistics, and how statistics can be used to tell a narrative, and shape our perceptions of the world. This class will be a mix of stats fundamentals, and lectures about how stats are used in practical settings and in media.

TTRPGCC - TableTop Role Playing Game Crash Course (Thomas Kaine)
Do you like playing D&D—and have you ever wondered why? We’ll talk about what people look for in roleplaying games, how different mechanics shape the experience, and then choose a tabletop game to play together. After the adventure, we’ll break down what worked, what didn’t, and whether the game delivered what we hoped for. Experience welcome, but not required.

Period 3

Birdwatching (Helen Tynes)
Armed with field guides and binoculars, we'll go hunting in the fields and forests for local and migratory birds. Be ready to take a daily stroll and to practice the patience and woodcraft it takes to catalogue a few feathered friends onto your life list.

Diorama Dynomite (David Kyser & Emmett Haruch)
Scale, composition, and narrative come together in three dimensions. This class focuses on building dioramas as a way to explore environment, storytelling, and visual design.

Electro Tropical Dance (Natasha Tylosky)
Electro Tropical blends Caribbean dance styles like Dancehall, Reggaeton, Salsa, and Cumbia with electronic beats. We’ll learn the basics and choreograph our own routine, mixing influences into a high-energy dance of our own.

Follow the Rules! (Lamont Holley)
In each class their will be different games, trivia, challenges, hunts, mysteries, and shenanigans that the participants will work individually and in teams to complete. In order to win you'll have to follow the rules. The strongest, smartest, and most clever individuals aren't always the winners.

How to be a Scoundrel (Jeremy Williams)
Scoundrels aren’t villains—they’re rule-questioners with style. We’ll explore cleverness, charm, and ethical mischief through stories, examples, and playful practice, learning how to bend expectations without breaking trust.

Intro to Choreography (Jessica Young)
Movement comes first, perfection later. We’ll experiment with creating short dances, learning how timing, space, and intention turn steps into something expressive—discovering that choreography is really just thinking with your body.

The Leadership Lab (Will German, Chad Watson)
Rising high school (13+) campers can take a specific Collaborative Leadership course, called the Leadership Lab, where youth explore the practical application of the Collaborative Leadership Skills across various camp spaces and activities. Through engaging discussions and hands-on exercises, campers will discover how leadership skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving can enhance their impact in group settings. Each week campers select the way in which they demonstrate their knowledge as well as how they’ve observed camp staff leveraging and implementing collaborative leadership skills.

Legacy of Rome (Thomas Kaine)
We’ll talk about how—and why—the image and the ideals of the Roman Empire have appealed to individuals and movements, both good and bad, throughout history. We’ll also discuss whether or not these people’s ideas of Rome line up with reality, and talk about what’s the point of studying all this old stuff, anyway.

Pickleball!!! (Matthew Perkins)
A small court, a plastic ball, and feelings that escalate quickly. We’ll learn the rules, practice the basics, and play enough pickleball to understand how something this simple became so serious.

Story Structure (Lane Demaske)
Stories don’t all move in straight lines. We’ll look at different narrative structures—old, new, and circular—read short examples, talk through how they work, and try them out in brief writing experiments.

Vocals/Singing & Songwriting (Graham Marema)
We’ll use our voices to make noise on purpose, exploring singing, melody, and songwriting along the way. Expect warm-ups, experimentation, and the slow realization that writing a good song is equal parts instinct, craft, and courage.</span

Words and Images (Phil Blank)
Sometimes the picture leads, sometimes the words do. We’ll experiment with cartooning, illustration, and watercolor to explore how images and text can argue, collaborate, or quietly complete each other.

Period 4

Crossroads (David Dykes)
Clues will be solved, grids will be filled, and confidence will be misplaced. We’ll learn how crosswords work, build our own, and discover the peculiar satisfaction of finding the one word that finally fits.

Embroidery (Lane Demaske)
Slow work, sharp needles, and very small mistakes. We’ll learn embroidery techniques while stitching designs by hand, discovering that patience, repetition, and the occasional knot are all part of making something worth keeping.

Guerilla Filmmaking (Dylan Bradley)
We’ll make a movie in five days with whatever we can scrape together. Expect quick thinking, creative shortcuts, and the strange satisfaction of proving that a lack of resources is not, in fact, a deal-breaker.

Haunted House Costumes (Jamie Turner)
We’ll design and create costumes for the AICL haunted house, turning fabric, found materials, and bad ideas into excellent ones. Expect hands-on making, creative problem-solving, and the joy of becoming unrecognizable in the service of a good scare.

History Repeating (Lamont Holley)
We will explore the history of America with a focus on race. We'll use historic facts to draw parallels of our founding shenanigans to present day shenanigans.

Just Five Notes (Phil Blank)
Why do people all over the world use scales with only 5 notes? And how can this unlock new levels of musical creativity for you? Learn how you can do everything from soloing, to songwriting, to hanging out musically by understanding the history and practice of pentatonic playing. No sheet music reading ability needed. Bring an instrument or voice or enthusiasm.

LIT: Ignite the Night, formerly CIT Class (Noah Johnson)
Rising juniors and seniors can enroll in a special project-based course offered once per week. Participants will plan and implement a Friday night activity, gaining hands-on experience in event planning, teamwork, and facilitation. Campers can sign up for one or two weeks.

Making a Haunted House (Jeremy Williams)
We’ll design and build a haunted house from scratch, turning everyday spaces into places people immediately regret entering. Expect practical effects, creative mischief, and the fine line between “delightfully spooky” and “we should probably turn that down a notch.”

Robot (Ozobot) (Matthew Perkins)
Small robot, big personality. We’ll program Ozobots using color codes and simple logic, experimenting with how tiny changes lead to very different behaviors—and learning that robots are only as smart as the instructions we give them.

The Science of Design (Natasha Tylosky)
Why does your oven have a knob instead of a lever? Why are stop signs red and not blue? Why do some doors open inwards and some outwards? Our lives are full of little design choices that go unnoticed. In this class we will discuss the design process behind our human-built environment and learn how to think like designers by creating paper prototypes of man-made objects.

Science of Goo - Beginner (Rachel Burton)
Sticky, stretchy, and delightfully messy. We’ll make gooey creations, play with textures, and turn found materials into art while learning just enough science to understand why things squish, ooze, and stick.

Theater Performance (Graham Marema)
From first read to final bow, we’ll band together to put on a play or musical. Expect rehearsals, missed cues, found cues, and the quiet thrill of pulling off a live performance that earns its place in AICL history.

Zines Machine (Spencer Page)
Zines are tiny soapboxes upon which we can stand and share our ideas with the world. Learn about the punk and nerdy history of self-publishing, stand against censorship, and make some cool art.