Phenomenal mentors, immense natural beauty, and rich Mediterranean culture are the foundation of The Field School’s offering and approach.
Spots for Summer 2024 are filling fast! Check availability here.
Age Groups & Guides
The Summer Camp is led by a group of experienced educators, fluent in English and well-versed in learner-led pedagogy and practice. They serve to ensure a safe and constructive environment for our campers, preparing materials, moderating discussion groups, organizing group games, and giving helpful nudges during lab times.
Each age group is supported by a Guide with relevant experience to that developmental stage. We aim for a student-teacher ratio that is supportive without being overbearing. For Early Learners (pre-school/kindergarten), there is one Guide for every five children. For Lower Elementary (ages 7-8) the balance is seven to one. And for the two older groups, Upper Elementary (ages 9-10) and Middle (pre-teen), there are ten children for each Guide.
Just as importantly, children will interact daily with a wide array of local artisans and global experts through workshops, site visits, and other programs.
Weekly Themes
Each week of Summer Camp focuses on a different theme, all drawing on outdoor play, hands-on learning, and the rich landscape of Hvar. Here are the themes and some sample activities from each week.
June 3-7 | Wild Things - Go rock climbing, hiking, and exploring ancient ruins on your journey to create a personal Field Guide to island Hvar. Design and sew your own journal, then fill it with hand-drawn maps, sketches of plants and animals, and your observations. Our visiting expert will be licensed outdoor guide Mira Ćurin,president of Hvar’s Mountaineering Club and leader of its Mountaineering School for Kids.
June 10-14 | Plant Power - Put on a micro-production of Shakespeare’s classic A Midsummer Night’s Dream, assembling costumes, set, and a “love potion” from things found in nature. Participate in a lavender harvest and study how artist William Morris used botanical motifs to transform visual culture. Our visiting expert will be PhD ethnobotanist Masha Jug-Dujaković.
June 17-21 | From the Land - Design and plant a drought-resistant garden that will flourish all summer long and beyond. Get to know garden neighbors and learn to nurture plants with techniques from nature. Our visiting expert will be Mario Gračin, founder of SOIL Regenerative Landscape Design.
June 24-28 | Flight - Work with other kids to build a flying machine that can take off, land, and drop a payload in a specific location, then show off your invention through a gripping tale of shipwreck and rescue, studying the thought process of Leonardo da Vinci for inspiration. The team that wins this challenge will get to ride in a real prop plane around the Dalmatian islands!
July 1-5 | Under the Sea - Restore a local waterway and learn about our coastal ecosystems through snorkeling expeditions and water purity tests. Create more complex and beautiful field journals to accommodate a new journey into watercolor. Our visiting expert will be marine biologist Mira Ćurin.
July 8-12 | Beat the Heat - Learn about climate adaptation and mitigation through a challenge to cool down Jelsa’s central park and a series of micro-projects, including a role-playing simulation to halt and reverse global warming. The winning team will get an ice cream sundae party!
July 15-19 | Sounds of Summer - Find rhythm and melody in the world around you. Build instruments, compose music, start a band, and perform your songs for an audience of friends and family. Channel music and sound into your artwork, drawing on the ideas of Vasily Kandinsky. Our visiting expert will be professional musician Katrin Spiegel.
July 22-26 | Secret Languages - How do plants and animals communicate? Use lessons from fungal networks, magnetic fields, bird song, folk dance, and computer science to devise your own secret language with other kids. Flip through the notebooks of visionary artist Hilma af Klimt.
July 29-Aug 2 | Seafarers - Build and race boats that would impress the pirate princes of Hvar’s Medieval and Renaissance past. Get inspiration from the great British painter J.M.W. Turner for your seascape sketches. The winning team will get a private boat tour of Stari Grad Bay, one of the oldest harbors in the Adriatic.
August 5-9 | Mi Smo Hrvati / We Are Croatian - Run to be the next Mayor of Jelsa - and then meet the real one! Wheel and deal in a mock Croatian parliament to learn about the country’s different regions, while exchanging experiences about school and homelife with kids from around the world. Develop sketches of people and faces in your field journal, including a special session of portraiture with mom or dad. And of course, enjoy lots of Croatian culture!
August 12-16 | Legends of Hvar - A life-size fantasy game sprawling across the summer landscape of Hvar. Campers become elves, dragon masters, and other legendary characters, embarking on quests and defeating nemeses from Hvar’s multi-layered past. Populate your field journals with characters inspired by the fantastical worlds of Moebius. Our visiting expert will be the master storyteller Stjepan Mijat Zaninović, founder of StoryBuilding children’s workshops.
August 19-23 | The Grape - Launch your own artisanal product made from local grapes! Consult with customers, suppliers, and real entrepreneurs to design a brand, test products, and finally tell the world about your social venture at a crowd-funded pitch night during Jelsa’s Wine Festival, first hosted in 1952. Our visiting experts will be from the Wine Museum of Jelsa.
August 26-30 | Sunlight - Stage a shadow play with your closest friends from camp to celebrate favorite moments. As summer comes to an end, we celebrate the awesome power of the sun as the source of all fuel, food, weather, and time on our planet.
The Place
Camp activities are held in and around the charming port town of Jelsa. A paradise for families, Jelsa boasts sprawling car-free pedestrian zones, including beaches, shady parks, and winding cobblestone alleyways. There are dozens of restaurants, cafes, and shops as well as several brand new grocery stores. Importantly, the town is served by multiple daily ferries for easy transportation, as well as emergency medical care, just in case.
Meals
Every evening children convene for a main meal, served family-style or as a picnic. There is also a morning snack to keep energy levels high.
The Field School is proud to be partnering with a family-owned, female-led restaurant called Masha specializing in locally-sourced, vegan and vegetarian cuisine, inspired by the region’s cosmopolitan culinary traditions, which incorporate flavors of Italy, Turkey, and Central Europe.
A typical dinner might be a chard burek (a traditional Balkan phyllo pie) served with tabouleh, fresh bread, and a glass of home-made sok, a juice infusion popular in Dalmatia.
Snacks will likewise spotlight local fare, such as dried figs, candied almonds, goat cheese, local honey, and seasonal produce straight from the summer harvest.
