First: Wishing you strength, reflection, and peace this Yom Kippur.
In 2016, a Dinosaur-themed monster truck tank drove into K&E and literally ate cars.
There’s video of it happening. Maybe you or your kid was there.
Everyone screaming.
Cars getting crushed.
Megasaurus was Color War breakout that year, and it was absolutely insane.
See for yourself. It’s way hard to put into words.
And this hasn’t been the only big moment. We try to rock memorable experiences every summer.
We’ve pulled a car from the lake.
Had a helicopter land.
And this past August, did a BMX breakout where kids got woken up by staff and herded to the gym where riders were performing crazy tricks before announcing Color War.
These moments are part of what makes K&E special. Kids talk about them for years. They become the stories they tell their friends when they get home.
We’re always thinking about how to create those peak experiences. Some involve heavy machinery. Some involve a counselor saying exactly the right thing at exactly the right moment.
Both matter.
The Peak-End Rule
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath covers a lot of ground, but one thing they hit on is memories.
We don’t remember experiences like a video camera recording everything. Our brains are way more selective than that.
We tend to remember peak emotional moments and end moments. That’s it.
The Peak-End Rule.
Think about your own life. First kiss. Prom night.
The last night of camp when you were a kid.
Those moments stick because they hit peak emotion or marked an ending.
Most of everything else? It fades.
This is why that monster truck moment is so freaking legendary.
The purest of pure peak emotion. Kids losing their minds in the best possible way.
But the peak moments don’t have to involve machines throwing flames and gobbling up old Toyota pickups.
Big (and I mean BIG) moments can be counselors pulling your child aside to tell them they’re proud of how they handled a tough situation.
Or sitting on a bench in the Hollow watching the sunset with bunkmates.
Or the moment your ultra quiet kid finally speaks up during the low ropes activity and solves the group problem.
Peak moments happen when kids feel seen, valued, surprised, or deeply connected. Scale doesn’t determine the impact on memory.
Memory shapes identity.
And identity shapes confidence.
The moments that stick become part of how your child sees themselves and what they believe they’re capable of.
What We’re Always Working Toward
We’re planning big moments for Color War breakout again this year.
It’s tradition. It’s awesome. And it creates memories. No doubt.
We’re also creating conditions for peak moments across the entire summer. Confidence building, connection, noticing when someone goes above and beyond, taking care of each other.
Your child doesn’t need us to crush cars every summer to have peak moments. (And it can’t happen anyway, Megasaurus is out of business. RIP Megasaurus.)
We just need to be intentional about creating the conditions where those memories can happen.
Traditions create anticipation.
Moments that mark transitions.
Recognition that feels genuine.
Times when your child feels truly seen by counselors who care about them.
Camp is naturally set up for this. The rhythms of the day, the close relationships, the challenges and celebrations. All of it creates opportunities for the kinds of memories that shape who kids become.
The Real Work
Big moments happen in the big moments.
Big moments also happen in the small moments.
That’s the whole thing.
Megasaurus worked because it created genuine surprise and excitement. Not because it involved heavy machinery.
It wasn’t legendary because of the spectacle.
Go back and watch the video again.
Notice how close the kids are sitting together without being told to.
Notice how they turn to their friends to see reactions.
Notice how they hold on to each other when something awesome is happening.
Notice how they run around jumping and high-fiving when it’s over.
THOSE are the actual memories.
If your child had been watching Megasaurus alone, it wouldn’t be a peak memory. It would be cool and weird, but there’d be no emotion. No connection.
It works because they’re experiencing something amazing alongside people they care about.
Quiet moments and loud moments are equally memorable.
Both become part of how kids remember camp. Both shape who they’re becoming.
That’s what we’re always working toward. Creating the conditions where peak moments can happen naturally. Where your child feels connected, challenged, and seen.
Some summers that includes dinosaurs eating cars.
Every summer it includes moments that matter just as much.
You got this,
Jack
PS - If you have wild ideas for Color War Break Out, send them over. I am all ears.
PPS - Everyone who enrolls by Nov 1st will get this hoodie, yes that includes everyone who is currently enrolled. Enroll here!
PPPS - I love talking camp. If we haven’t had a chance to talk let’s do that. Calendly link to schedule.