Company Profile
Camp Half-Blood
Company Overview
Plato Learning operates outdoor mythology-based day camps for kids ages 7-15. We create a world where monsters, myth, and magic transport kids out of the mortal realm into one where they are empowered to develop new skills, take risks, solve problems, and ultimately become Heroes. Now in thirteen locations spanning from NYC to California, Plato Learning uses actors, live-action role-play, and physically and mentally engaging activities to bring myths to life.
Are you ready to join the team and accept our call to adventure?
Our journey starts with you. Whether you’re a Camp Director or a Counselor, it’s in your DNA to want to be a hero.
Somewhere along the way though, we lost our way and we stopped asking questions, seeking adventure and taking risks. We settled for routines, checklists and careers that put our imagination and the hero inside us to sleep.
But what if it didn’t have to be that way?
At Camp Half-Blood, we create a summer camp experience that’s designed to spark children's imagination and unleash the hero within.
It’s an experience that was born out of the best-selling Percy Jackson Chronicles, a young adult series written by Rick Riordan. In the world Rick created, the ancient gods and goddesses of Greek, Egyptian and Norse mythology aren’t just legends of old. They are alive today. But so are the monsters and enemies trying to destroy them.
In the series, Camp Half-Blood is the secret location where young demigods go to become heroes. Like Hercules and Perseus, they train their minds and bodies so that they can go on quests to stop their enemies from wreaking havoc in the mortal world.
Today, our team brings bring these stories, and so many more, to life so that each camper develops a greater appreciation for reading, storytelling, active play and themselves as they discover the hero within.
We use immersive lessons and activities that range from swordplay to ancient Greek arts and crafts. And with each new week, a new story is created and performed, which is why no two-weeks at Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter are the same.
We should warn you though. Once you awaken the hero within, you may never be same.
Company History
Where it all began...
From 2000-2010, our Founder and CEO, Crystal Bobb-Semple owned a bookstore in Bedford-Stuyvesant called Brownstone Books. She opened the store out of a commitment to both literacy and community. Brownstone Books was notable for its programming, which included book clubs for all ages, author events, poetry slams, and children’s storytime.
In 2009 the Young Readers’ Book Club discovered the Percy Jackson book series and wondered whether Camp Half-Blood, the training ground for half-mortal kids of the Greek gods fictionalized by Rick Riordan, author of the series, really existed. Seeing an opportunity to create more excitement and engagement around the stories they were reading, Crystal adopted her mythological identity as Persephone and responded ‘yes.’
That year, in consultation with Book People in Austin, Texas, she chose two classic myths, Pandora’s Box and the Trojan War, and brought them to life in an immersive summer camp program called Camp Half-Blood.
Camp Half-Blood began its life in Prospect Park, as a band of around 20 campers and staff armed with foam swords, duct tape, and monsters lurking in the woods. Some activities have changed over time, but the orange shirts and foam swords have been staples of Camp Half-Blood for the last decade and are synonymous with the program.
That same summer, in response to another popular book, she launched the Double-Daring Camp for Girls, which endeavored to engage girls in activities that would deepen their identities as leaders and change-makers in the world.
After that Summer, the Double-Daring Camp for Girls was put on hiatus so that founder Crystal Bobb-Semple could focus her efforts on Camp Half-Blood, whose growth would continue to rise year after year. By 2015 the program had grown to hold 140+ campers each week and field a staff of 20+ employees. It soon became clear that there were more demigods than one location alone could handle. In 2016 plans were made to expand Plato Learning's programs to new heights.
To meet the demand of new demigods all over the city and the country, Plato Learning began to grow.
Now with 15 camps in 13 locations nationwide, we're proud to be training up hundreds of demigods each summer by equipping them with the knowledge, creativity and bravery they need to save the world from a horrible fate.
Benefits
Opportunity for Advancement: As Plato Learning grows, we’re continually looking within our talented seasonal staff to fill full-time opportunities within the company. Wherever possible, we also connect our staff with career-advancing opportunities outside of Plato Learning.
Community: Containing hundreds of creative-minded heroes, the Plato Learning network carries authors, podcasters, performers, dungeon masters, and many others ready to chat and create.