2020 Schedule TBA
2020 Full Schedule and Itinerary coming soon
We choose ADVENTURE
At Explorations, it has been our tradition to utilize beautiful, vibrant and challenging outdoor classrooms to teach our students just how capable they are of achieving great things. Since 1990, we have watched hundreds of students learn about themselves and foster a sense of purpose and personal direction by participating in challenging outdoor adventures, meaningful service work, travel experiences and family trips. Our program helps adolescents increase self-esteem and move past self-imposed limitation to set up success at home and at school.
The traditional outdoor intervention curriculum of back-country hiking – while the mainstay of most teen wilderness experiences – is something many of our students may have already conquered or may be deemed "too therapeutic." The progression into an adventure-based curriculum challenges our students to stretch to the next level of positive peer interaction and personal leadership. By the end of the summer, our students have typically developed a sense of leadership and accomplishment that has exceeded their own expectations, as well as those of their parents.
ADVENTURES we choose
Our Summer Adventure Program immerses students in a variety of expeditions and experiences that are dynamic, fun, and build upon the innate strengths of each student. Students learn the many adventure skills including simple rafting, flat water canoeing,mountain-biking, and back country hiking. Throughout each adventure, students are encouraged to practice self-reliance, and to build healthy interdependent relationships within the group by engaging in appropriate communication and meaningful team work. These skills provide a launching pad for successful future endeavors as students return to school, re-integrate into the family, or move toward life's next challenge
The value of SERVICE
Our students learn how significant their impact can be by giving – of their time, their talent and their energies. Service to others becomes meaningful when students understand that barriers exist for others that may never have existed for them. Our Service Learning Projects are varied but may include river restoration projects, cultural immersion projects designed by community leaders or trail rehabilitation. Students learn the value of giving back through their outreach and those experiences raise awareness about themselves and the needs of the world around them.
Youth need MENTORS
Our Counselors and Outdoor Adventure Guides provide side-by-side support for our students every step of the way. Safety is paramount at Explorations and our team prioritizes both the physical and emotional safety of each of our students. Our counselors and guides are experienced mentors who have worked with youth in a variety of settings, are first aid trained and are skillful at establishing excellent rapport with our students. This versatility allows them to form meaningful relationships with our students by building trust through consistent support, predictable boundaries, and positive and constructive feedback. Each of our mentors has a willingness to listen and lend a hand whenever possible.
Our TEAM
Outdoor Adventure Guides accompany our students during all backcountry expeditions, providing professional and skillful instruction in an environment of safety. These mentors teach critical expedition skills, effective communication techniques, and team-building activities. Our guides make it a priority to provide daily opportunities for leadership to each member of the trip. Our guides know that some lessons can only be learned firsthand – and look forward to teachable moments with each student.
Between expeditions, students return to our HomeBase where Counselors provide a "sense of home" in a family environment on 80 acres in a beautiful rural lodge setting. Students enjoy home-cooked meals, talk with parents by phone and participate in projects at Explorations and in the community. Our counselors are life skills teachers and use the "real world" to help equip our students with tools that can be used at home, within a community or at school.
Our Licensed Therapists live part-time in the field with the students during expeditions to help maximize opportunities for personal growth. Students meet with a therapist regularly throughout the summer to build and refine appropriate communication skills, goal-setting, problem-solving skills and healthy interdependent relationships within the group. Throughout the summer, individual counseling, group counseling, and a strong empowerment curriculum is integrated into both the outdoor and HomeBase experiences to support all aspects of a student's learning.
Involve the FAMILY
We invite parents of our participants to join us for our signature week-long Parent Adventure Trip. Since 1992, we have offered outdoor trips for families, providing them the unique opportunity to create and share in a Montana adventure with their child or entire family. We also offer a Sibling Camp Adventure trip mid-summer as another option for families to come together. All family trips are based upon therapeutic recommendations. Parents are provided regular updates about their child's progress during the program by our therapist, advisor or certified parent coaches.
Leadership + Adventure = Options
Our Summer Adventure Program offers many options to cultivate confidence, self-esteem, and pride in one's accomplishments:
- American Red Cross First Aid & CPR certification
- American Canoe Association Workshop Participation card – paddling safety and technical skills
- Minimum of 40 hours community service volunteerism
- Sibling Camp Adventure
- Parent or Family Trip
- Our Summer Adventure Program experience is co-ed to provide realistic opportunities for socialization under the careful supervision and support of our staff team.
Download Full 2020 Schedule and itinerary when available
Or call today for more info and registration: 406.827.3863
