Interim provides opportunities to get out of the classroom to learn by doing, through exposure to new ideas, experiences, and environments. Interim trips span the gamut from artistic pursuits to community engagement and wilderness expeditions. Immersion in a unifying trip concept broadens students’ skills, knowledge, and awareness.
Interim Goals:
- To practice physical and emotional resilience
- To cultivate student agency through trip planning and leadership
- To practice community values and service to others
- To learn via exploration and personal initiative
- To collaborate and problem solve
Here are the practical details parents should know:
All Upper School Interims will take place the week of May 25, 2020. Some Interims start on Sunday, most start on Monday (Memorial Day), and one (Space is the Place) starts on Tuesday. Please note the date of each trip when selecting your preferences. Once students have reviewed trip descriptions, they should click on the 2020 registration link.
At this time, we do not need any of the trip-specific waivers signed. We will collect those after Interim placements have been completed.
Additional Information:
- Attendance on Interim is mandatory. Please do not schedule appointments during Interim.
- Interim registration is final, and changes are made only for medical emergencies.
- Take into account the general health of your child. Some medical conditions or poor fitness should lead you to place certain programs as a low choice. To participate in the canoeing Interim, students must be able to swim.
- Students should not repeat an Interim.
- The cost of Interim is included in tuition.
Thank you for reviewing all these materials and discussing possible options with your child. If you have any questions that I can be helpful with, please do not hesitate to email me at forbes.cone@coloradoacademy.org.
Available Trips:
To view trips, simply scroll down or click each trip for more information.
- 5280 Amazing Rally
- A Chip Off the Block
- Adaptive Climbing (NEW)
- Aerial Acrobatics
- Are You Thready for This? (NEW)
- Be an Archaeologist
- Bikes, Bites, and Beats
- Blacksmithing and Beyond
- Canoe the Gunnison (NEW)
- Ceramics in the Wild (NEW)
- Desolation Canyon Whitewater
- Exploring the Canyonlands
- Gourmet Heaven
- Hut-to-Hut Skiing
- Joe’s Valley Bouldering
- Kayaking the Western Slope
- Peeps in Paradise 2.0: Climbing at Shelf Road
- Raft the Colorado
- Rock On!
- Shoshoni Yoga Experience
- Ski Building
- Space is the Place (NEW)
- Sports Performance (NEW)
- Survival School (NEW)
- Swashbuckling (NEW)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Warriors
- The Wonderful World of Glassblowing
- Toy Shop. Teen Edition (NEW)
- Trailblazing on the Front Range
- Ukulele University
- Woodworking / Modern Design
5280 Amazing Rally
Trip Leader: Luis Terrazas
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Low intensity (sitting, standing, and light walking)
Vendor: Angel Vigil
How well do you really know Denver? You can still see, hear, and even taste, the city’s rich history through its architecture, food, and infrastructure. Join us on a journey through Civic Center/Capitol, Five Points, Auraria, Union Station, and Larimer Square, where we will delight in good food and uncover details of the city’s complex past. Each morning we meet at Union Station, where Angel Vigil, our guide, provides a series of challenges—all designed for fun and competition—that culminate with good food and prizes. Bring your devices, and CA will provide RTD passes. We’ll take care of the food.
A Chip Off the Block
Trip Leaders: Bob Clagett and Taja McKinney
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Marble, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Medium intensity (moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
Vendors: Beaver Lake Lodge and Cabins and Greg Tonozzi, Marble Sculptor
The tiny town of Marble, Colorado, located at the southern end of the Crystal River Valley that runs north to Carbondale, was once a bustling marble-mining community whose quarries produced much of the marble that was used in government buildings in Washington, D.C. and statues all over the world. More recently, Marble has become an active artists’ colony, with several marble sculptors designing works of art from the marble quarry. Under the instruction of a local sculptor (who has been described to us as “an eccentric mountain gnome”), we will learn the art of marble sculpture, along with the history of the valley and geology. During our four days in Marble, all participants will create their own marble sculpture that they will bring home with them. There will also be some hiking opportunities in this gorgeous valley.
Adaptive Climbing
Trip Leaders: Chris Marchetti and Laura Sandbloom
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Medium intensity (moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
Vendor: Paradox Sports
Interested in climbing and the outdoors? Interested in service? Interested in giving back to the CA community and the greater climbing community in the Denver Metro Area? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, the Adaptive Climbing Interim is for you. We will be working with Paradox Sports, a local organization that helps to get everyone climbing. At Paradox Sports, they envision a world with access to adaptive opportunities, which empower individuals, build communities, and honor the fact that ability does not prevent opportunity. In this Interim students will be trained to support adaptive athletes climbing at our own climbing facility on campus and then move outside to apply the skills on natural rock in Clear Creek Canyon. Throughout the week, students will have the opportunity to learn from and work with adaptive athletes.
Aerial Acrobatics
Trip Leaders: Sara Purviance and Emily Perez
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Medium intensity (moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
Vendor: Aerial Cirque Over Denver
At Aerial Cirque Over Denver, you will have the chance to work with aerial trapeze, lyra (hoops), silks, and slings in a safe, supportive environment, suited to beginners and advanced aerialists alike. In addition to developing aerial skills, you will have the opportunity to choreograph, direct, and perform in a piece on the last day of Interim. No experience is necessary, but if you are a climber or have enjoyed aerial work in circus camp, this Interim will play to your strengths.
Are You Thready for This?
Trip Leaders: Lisa Todd and Jane Kelly
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, May 24- Friday, May 29
Level: Low intensity (sitting, standing and light walking)
Vendor: Joanne Fabrics
Do you love puns? Would you like to learn how to make practical and unique items? Backstitch, baste, zigzag, or blind hem—you can do it all on this Interim. Learn (or review) important sewing techniques including sewing machine basics, fabric selection, reading sewing patterns, making a casing, how to hem, and how to add a zipper. Students will make a variety of sewing projects, including apparel (PJ pants, skirts, dresses, neckties), accessories (tote bags, shopping bags or clutches), and gifts (pillow cases, sleep masks, luggage tags, aprons). No matter what you create, you’ll end the week with tangible evidence of your sewing prowess! Materials will be provided, but students are encouraged to bring their own machines (we recommend you borrow one from a family member or neighbor if you don’t have one). This is a hands-on, engaging Interim that teaches life-long practical skills.
Be An Archaeologist
Trip Leaders: Barry Simmons and Lisa Dean
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Cortez, Colorado
Trip Dates: Sunday, May 24- Friday, May 29
Level: Medium intensity (moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
Vendor: Crow Canyon Archaeology Center
Want to be an archaeologist? Imagine discovering a pottery sherd while excavating, documenting its exact location, and carefully packaging it to be analyzed upon return to the lab. You will actively learn the basic techniques, concepts, and theories of archaeology in relation to Ancestral Puebloan cultures from professional archaeologists. We will learn and practice certain skills the ancient ones used to flourish in a challenging, yet beautiful environment. We will sleep in hogans in our sleeping bags, shower daily, eat our homemade meals in Crow Canyon’s dining hall, and spend our days in the field visiting and excavating sites inhabited by Ancestral Puebloans. We will not simply learn about archaeology. We will do it.
Bikes, Bites, and Beats
Trip Leaders: Chris Roads and Aaron Thomas
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, May 25-Friday, May 29
Level: High intensity (active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion)
Vendor: None
The plan is to have the perfect day every day—a bike ride into hills to enjoy stunning scenery, a picnic lunch, and percussive music-making with friends in the readily accessible outdoors. Each day, we’ll creatively assemble a picnic lunch and pack our percussion before riding fat tire mountain bikes to some of the most beautiful, acoustically-stimulating places along the front range. Of course, getting there (and back) is at least half the fun, assuming you have at least a moderate level of cardiovascular fitness—and can ride a bike! Upon reaching our destinations, we will feast upon the shared smorgasbord that spills forth from our packs and enjoy each other’s company and musical explorations in the mid-day sun. Musical experience is not required; an adventurous spirit is.
Blacksmithing & Beyond
Trip Leader: Jonathan Ender
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Pine, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Medium intensity (moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
Vendor: Dragon Forge LTD
Learn the age-old art of forging metal like the blacksmiths of ye olden days, along with learning the basics of welding. With these skills you’ll create your own works of art in addition to the planned projects of the week. You’ll work hard and see the rewards of your perseverance by using a set of skills that only some ever get to learn or try!
Each day you’ll drive up to the Dragon Forge studio, in Pine Junction, Colorado and work with owner and son, Craig and Rory May, who are first- and second-generation blacksmiths and one of Colorado’s top blacksmithing vendors. Forge your metal into tapers, twists, and intricate crooks to make functional pieces of art!
Canoe the Gunnison
Trip Leaders: Karen Donald and David Frankel
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Gunnison, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: High intensity (active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion)
Vendor: Centennial Canoe Outfitters Inc.
Canoeing in Colorado on the Gunnison River will spark your sense of adventure with opportunities for hiking and exploring, floating in your lifejacket and camping along the river’s edge. During this Colorado canoe trip, you will be dwarfed by high walls of red sandstone and shale deposited during the age of the dinosaurs. These canyons in the Colorado Plateau are truly magnificent and not soon forgotten. Massive cottonwoods stand on many river bends supporting the huge nests of blue herons, hawks, and eagles. You may hike into Dominguez Canyon, Colorado’s newest designated Wilderness Area, one of the most beautiful stops on the river. Hiking into the canyon will reveal deep, cool swimming holes, waterfalls, and many ancient Indian petroglyphs (rock art panels).
Ceramics in the Wild
Trip Leaders: Stashia Taylor and Alecia Maher
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: San Rafael Swell, Utah
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: High intensity (active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion)
Vendor: Kayenta Fire
Come into the backcountry and use nature as your art studio. We will hike and camp out in the Utah desert for the week to gather and process everything we need to make ceramic pottery. Inspired by Anasazi traditions, we will collect clay from the earth and build pottery using ancient techniques and natural materials. In the desert, we will fire our pieces in an Anasazi-style trench kiln and come home with creations that are beautiful, useful, and lasting. This experience will challenge our bodies and our minds, solving problems and working together to have a creative experience in the backcountry.
Desolation Canyon Whitewater
Trip Leader: Steven Hammer
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Desolation Canyon, Utah
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25-Friday, May 29
Level: High Intensity (active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion)
Vendor: Sheri Griffith Expeditions
Spend a week camping in Desolation Canyon outside Moab. With our guides from Sheri Griffith Expeditions, we will travel in two-person inflatable kayaks down 84 miles of the Green River, experiencing fifty Class I-III rapids. We will work as a team navigating the rapids, setting up and taking down camp every day, and exploring the canyon through various day hikes.
Exposed layers in towering canyon walls will give us a Grand Canyon experience. Additionally, we will see various wildlife: from day lizards sunning themselves, to eagles and hawks soaring in air streams amidst the canyon walls, to deer and coyote moving along the river’s edge.
All students are welcome to register for this program; no kayak or whitewater experience is necessary. Be mindful that we will be outside in the elements twenty-four hours a day, and there will be regular rigorous physical activity. Therefore, the success of this Interim will be 90% dependent upon the positive attitude of the entire group. No single participant is successful unless the entire group is successful. Students who are gung-ho adrenaline junkies will make this trip spectacular!
Exploring the Canyonlands
Trip Leader: Mike Davis
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Bears Ears National Monument, Utah
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: High intensity (active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion)
Vendor: Mike Davis Adventures!
This is a physically demanding Interim experience that will take you into the heart of wilderness in southeastern Utah. This involves scrambling and climbing over difficult terrain, as well as rappelling off of cliff faces. While Canyonlands and Moab are popular spots for exploring the Utah desert, far fewer hikers venture down to the contested Bears Ears National Monument, the location of our journey.
Just west of Blanding, Utah, Bears Ears is home to the greatest concentration of ruins of the Ancestral Puebloan peoples. Well-preserved rock art and structures abound. Students will learn important technical skills when traveling in canyon country, including navigation and survival skills. We will camp in the remote backcountry. This is a unique trip that is as inspiring as it is challenging.
Important Disclosure: Students who sign up for this trip cannot have a fear of heights, as we will navigate and climb numerous exposed cliff ledges and faces. Further, students should be prepared to hike up to 10 miles a day (with elevation gain) on land that does not have established trails.
The reward for your hard work is a one-of-a-kind experience to see archaeological sites that few have laid eyes upon. As Thoreau once said, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
Gourmet Heaven
Trip Leaders: Sarah Wright and Julie Wei
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25-Friday, May 29
Level: Low intensity (sitting, standing and light walking)
Vendor: The Seasoned Chef Cooking School
Indulge in a delicious culinary experience at the award winning Seasoned Chef Cooking School. For five days you will experience the joy of cooking and eating a wide variety of impressive meals. Working in a modern home kitchen, you will be directed by an experienced and dynamic professional chef, Dan Witherspoon.
You will learn to prepare gourmet meals and basic techniques for cooking that will give you the edge in the kitchen. Our program will include knife skills, preparing delicious soups, salads, dressings and sauces, pastries, making homemade Italian specialties, including handmade pasta, Mexican dishes, and Asian dishes. You will receive a complete recipe packet to take home so you can impress your friends and family, in your own kitchen, recreating all the yummy dishes you learned to prepare during the week.
Hut-to-Hut Backcountry Skiing
Trip Leaders: Forbes Cone and Katy Hills
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Ashcroft, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25-Friday, May 29
Level: High intensity (active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion), Must be a black diamond skier.
Vendor: None
On the Hut-to-Hut Skiing Interim, students will travel between Tagert/Green-Wilson and Friends Huts in the Maroon Bells Wilderness. The route ascends over 5,500 feet and covers 25 miles on alpine touring skis, all while carrying heavy packs, with five days of supplies. The ability to ski black diamond terrain, be an excellent team member, and push through adversity during the long trek between huts is required. Students will need to provide their own alpine touring set-up (rented or purchased). If you want ADVENTURE and to test your ENDURANCE, this is the Interim for YOU!
Joe’s Valley Bouldering
Trip Leaders: Austin Harvey, Hayden Wolfe, Sean Paton, and Will Ungar
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Joe’s Valley, Utah
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25-Friday, May 29
Level: High intensity (active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion)
Vendor: Denver Mountain Guides
Joe’s Valley Interim: a trip to Utah’s world renowned bouldering Mecca. Bouldering is climbing at low heights with a padded landing zone rather than ropes. In addition to some bomber climbing, the area features awesome swimming holes, breathtaking landscape, and amazing stargazing. While there, you’ll be expected to push yourself as a climber; we want you going to bed each night feeling tired and satisfied. Additionally, we’ll learn some of the history of Joe’s Valley, as well as the importance of environmental conservation that Joe’s Valley represents. Now for your most burning question: Who is Joe? You’ll have to sign up to find out.
Kayaking the Western Slope
Trip Leader: Sean Gallop
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Dotsero, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25-Friday, May 29
Level: High intensity (active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion)
Vendor: Renaissance Adventure Guides
This epic whitewater kayaking adventure will take you from zero to hero in five days. While descending through Deep Creek Canyon, students will navigate 37 miles of the Colorado and Roaring Fork Rivers, camp under the stars, and explore side canyons along the way. Beyond adventure, students will learn about the area’s unique geology, how to preserve the fragile ecosystem of the canyon, and catch glimpses of rarely seen wildlife.
Peeps in Paradise 2.0: Climbing at Shelf Road
Trip Leaders: Dani Meyers and Cathy Nabbefeld
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Cañon City, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 27- Friday, May 31
Level: High intensity (active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion)
Vendor: Kent Mountain Adventure Center
Get ready to persevere up some peaks via rocky crags. Prepare your plate for some gourmet campfire cooking–pasta and peach cobbler anyone? At night, play Pictionary and page your way through a romance novel around the firepit. Most of all, pack your sense of humor for this wild ride. (No experience necessary–in climbing or romance novels.)
Raft the Colorado
Trip Leader: Gabe Bernstein
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Fruita, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Low intensity (sitting, standing and light walking)
Vendor: Rimrock Adventures
If you’re looking for a mix of relaxation and adventure on the border of Colorado and Utah, then this river trip is for you! This rafting trip will be three relaxing days on the river in the Ruby and Horsethief Canyon sections, with stunning sandstone canyon walls, sandy beaches, and opportunities for short day hikes. We will be camping each night along the river with food provided by our Rimrock Adventures guides.
Rock On!
Trip Leader: Liz Sarles
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver Metro Area, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: High intensity (active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion)
Vendor: Colorado Mountain Club
Come rock climb with us! This trip will lead us up canyon walls in a search of our own perceived limits, as we seek to discover the best climbers within ourselves. You will be challenged physically and mentally, no matter your rock climbing experience. Our Colorado Mountain Club guides will teach us not only techniques ranging from slab to crack climbing, but a bit about lead climbing and setting routes. Thursday of our week will be an extended day in which we will cook dinner together and watch a film at The American Mountaineering Center in Golden.
Shoshoni Yoga Experience
Trip Leaders: Neethi Venkateswaran and Stephanie Turner
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Rollinsville, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Medium intensity (moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
Vendor: ShambhavaYoga Shoshoni
Shoshoni Yoga Retreat will broaden students’ awareness and mindfulness of themselves. Each day students will participate in three and one-half hours of Shambahava yoga/breathing and one to three hours of temple meditation and Sanskrit chanting. Other organized activities include an introduction to Hinduism and Buddhism, one hour of daily service (Seva), and an Ayurvedic (vegetarian) cooking class, sunrise and sunset meditation practices, and an ancient fire ceremony.
Ski Building
Trip Leader: Mike Stanitski
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Gunnison, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Low intensity (sitting, standing and light walking)
Vendor: Community Skis
Imagine this … You’re skiing in the backcountry or at the resort, and a stranger notices the custom design of your skis and asks, “Where did you get those?” and you respond, “I made these myself and designed the top sheet.” If you join the Ski Building Interim led by the amazing instructors, Michael and Kristin, from Community Skis, you’ll have those conversations with strangers and carve turns on skis you’ve manufactured with your own hands.
There are three main parts to the ski-making process: material prep, building the skis, and the finish process. At the end, it all comes together—your understanding of ski design and manufacturing, and having built something beautiful with your hands. You’ll check the flex, eye the camber/rocker profile, take a step back, and admire your creation.
Space is the Place
Trip Leaders: Elliot Chase and Ross Holland
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver and Boulder, Colorado
Trip Dates: Tuesday, May 27-Saturday, May 30
Level: Medium intensity (moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
Vendor: None
As the great Einstein humorously quipped, “Once you accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something—wearing stripes with plaid comes easy”. On this Interim, we will explore the nature of space, time, the universe, and our place in the cosmos. Daily field trips will include a visit to the Museum of Science, visiting the planetarium at CU-Boulder, building conceptual models, and exploring geological time at Red Rocks Amphitheater. No scientific or mathematical background is necessary. Students just need an open mind and a willingness to consider wearing plaid and stripes.
Sports Performance on the Front Range
Trip Leaders: Peter Horsch and Erin Gray
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Medium intensity (moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
Vendor: None
Our beautiful Colorado landscape and active culture provide ample opportunities to engage in challenging athletic endeavors and reflect on the practices that support athletic performance. If you’d like to train for and run the Bolder Boulder, climb the Manitou Incline, summit a Front Range peak, and explore how to maintain and support an active, outdoor-focused fit lifestyle, this Interim is the ticket.
Survival School
Trip Leader: Wes Kirk
Trip Type: Away (Away from Denver for 5 days)
Location: Loveland, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: High intensity (active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion)
Vendor: Cottonwood Institute and Sylvan Dale Ranch
If you got lost in the mountains, would you know how to survive? During this action-packed survival skills adventure, we will camp out for the week and teach you the basic skills to survive in the mountains of Colorado. You will learn about survival priorities, build survival shelters, practice three ways to make fire, find and purify water, learn about edible plants, and practice ways to signal your rescue team. We will end the week with a fun survival competition that will tie together all of the skills we learned throughout the week.
Swashbuckling
Trip Leaders: Maclain Looper and Gwylym Cano
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Medium intensity (moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
Vendor: Denver Center for the Performing Arts
Engage in daring and romantic adventures with ostentatious bravado or flamboyance. From Inigo Montoya and The Princess Bride, to Èowyn and Kylo Ren, these immortal fictionalized wielders of the sword are brought to life by actors skilled in the art of swashbuckling and versed in the techniques of stage combat. Join us for a weeklong foray into the world of the sword at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Rehearsal Studios.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Warriors
Trip Leaders: Lisa Boes and Suzie Jekel
Trip Type: Local (Denver based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: High intensity (active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion)
Vendor: None
Introduce yourself to the ancient and newly discovered Way of the Ninja. Students will attempt ninja obstacles, complete ninja courses, try parkour, participate in ropes courses, and practice kickboxing. Participants should be prepared to push themselves physically and challenge themselves mentally as they see their ninja skills improve throughout the week.
The Wonderful World of Glassblowing
Trip Leaders: Andrea Eckler and Sonia Arora
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Lakewood, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Low intensity (sitting, standing and light walking)
Vendor: The Furnace: a Glassworks
The art of glassblowing is a fun and challenging adventure in which students can shape objects to their desire, exploring various shapes and vibrant colors to make their visions come to life. Students will work one-on-one with professional glass blowers to learn to heat and shape molten glass and to understand the intricacies that are involved in safely creating beautiful works of art. Glass blowing has been practiced for centuries by many cultures, from ancient Romans to modern times. Glass can take many forms, from functional objects like drinking glasses to complex sculptural pieces. Join us and add your artistic twist to history.
Toy Shop: Teen Edition
Trip Leaders: Ali Kittle and Brigitte Debord
Trip Type: Local (Denver based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Low intensity (sitting, standing and light walking)
Vendor: Craftsman and Apprentice
You’re never too old to play! Join us for a week of creative exploration at The Craftsman & Apprentice. In this intensive, we will explore a variety of materials, techniques, and developmental practices as we create the most awesome play things. Each day will be dedicated to a new material and design challenge. We’ll culminate our week together with makers designing their own line of toys and trading them with each other.
Trailblazing on the Front Range
Trip Leaders: Daniel Lopez and Kim Jans
Trip Type: Local (Denver based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver and Boulder, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Medium intensity (moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
Vendor: None
Ready to forge new paths and friendships in the great outdoors? Over the course of the week, we will explore a variety of nearby trails. Students will work in small groups to prepare, plan, and ultimately lead hikes of 4-7 miles in length. This Interim allows students to get out and experience the wilderness that is literally in their own backyard, as well as develop leadership skills. We will also spend one day volunteering for trail maintenance with Jeffco Open Space, in order to demonstrate our commitment to environmental stewardship. Let’s get our hike on—and be fueled by good food and joyful camaraderie along the way!
Ukulele University
Trip Leaders: David Colodny and Sonia Sitja
Trip Type: Local (Denver based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Low intensity (sitting, standing and light walking)
Vendor: Orthwest Studios
The mighty ukulele is one of the most versatile, portable, and fun instruments around. If you’ve ever wanted to learn to play this fun, take-anywhere instrument, or if you do know how to play it and want to learn more about how instruments work, this is your chance to build a wooden stringed instrument to call your own. We will work with an expert luthier (stringed instrument builder) on campus to complete a playable, concert-sized ukulele from both raw materials and some parts prepared in advance.
Woodworking and Elements of Modern Design
Trip Leader: Meg Hill
Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week; no overnight)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Trip Dates: Monday, (Memorial Day) May 25- Friday, May 29
Level: Low intensity (sitting, standing and light walking)
Vendor: Maria Garcia, Professional Woodworker
During this very hands-on and creative Interim, participants will design and build their own chair and/or stool and one-of-a-kind cutting board. Through the design process, participants will begin to see uncommon beauty and unlimited possibilities in these utilitarian objects and appreciate the skilled work that goes into making hand-crafted furniture.
As with any great creative project, a bulk of the time will be spent in the studio. Participants will learn to safely use a variety of hand tools, power tools, and machinery. One day will be spent off-campus exploring the design techniques of famed mid-20th century chair designers, Charles and Ray Eames.