Atari Computer Camps
Did you know that Atari Computer Camps existed?! I had no idea and I was EXACTLY the kind of kid that would have LOVED Atari Summer Camp.
Last month, I was doing some research at the library for Starling Fitness by looking through old Seventeen magazines from the Eighties. I happened to find these two advertisements for Atari Computer Camps and even now I wonder how I didn’t hear anything about this. I READ those magazines back when I was a teenager. You’d think I would have noticed these ads a little more than the “It Feels Good To Be Thin” ad that I remembered even after twenty years.
I first learned how to program in BASIC on an Atari 800 at Kennedy Junior High. I would have LOVED to go to Atari Computer Camp. Look at that photo! I would have thought it a dream come true to go to a COED camp with BOYS.
This advertisement makes a big deal about that “feature” of the camps. It reads:
Why do girls like Atari Computer Camps?
Maybe girls like Atari Computer Camps because of our full program of sports and recreational activities. Maybe it’s our professional and dedicated staff. Most probably it’s because they have the unique opportunity to get computer skills that will serve them the rest of their lives.
And of course, it could just be that Atari girls happen to like Atari boys.
It doesn’t get any better than that, does it?
I found this article wrote in 1983 about the Atari Camps:
The schedule looked like this:
9:00-10:25 a.m. Computer Instruction
10:30-11:10 Drama
11:15-12:00 Tennis
12:00- 1:55 Lunch – Rest Hour
2:00- 2:55 Computer Workshop
3:00- 3:35 Free Swim
4:00- 5:25 Softball
They even had famous visitors:
Once a week on banquet night a special guest speaker, usually a computer game designer/programmer, appears to talk about his work. The week before our visit, Chris Crawford, author of Atari’s Eastern Front, talked about his programming experience and his new games, soon to be released, called Gossip and Excalibur. The day we visited the camp, Vince Wu, designer of the famous Donkey Kong arcade game, was scheduled to speak.
I would have loved to go to a camp like this! I wonder how my life would be different if I had.
I wanted so, so bad to go to one of those Atari camps. My parents declared a firm NO. There was no future in those computer toys, you know.
In retrospect, I probably wouldn’t have loved it, if they tore me away from the computers to play tennis. And softball. And eat.
Comment by Kevin — December 16, 2008 @ 2:19 pm
🙂 Just thought I’d mention I was a teaching assistant at two Atari Computer Camps (San Diego and Danville) and then at an independent “computer camp” a third summer while attending college (for a degree in electrical engineering).
I still have a soft spot for the Atari computers 🙂
Comment by Darci Hanning — March 9, 2009 @ 8:44 am
I attended Atari Computer Camp (my mom still has my green t-shirt) on the campus of University of San Diego in the summer of either 1981 or 1982. I remember it being a lot of fun but sadly I never went anywhere with computer programming.
P.S.–I think I remember Darci working there too.
Comment by Barry Champagne — February 11, 2010 @ 10:31 am
I also attended Atari Computer Camp in Faribault, MN. I was there for the two week session. Was pretty cool. We saw a video of “future” technologies being worked on at Atari. Voice control / interaction with a computer. VERY COOL. We had one of the senior programmers from Atari give us a lecture and demo on hi-res graphics programming. I had those green T-Shirts for many years, but I eventually wore them out after 15 years.
Comment by Alan — July 24, 2010 @ 11:35 am
I remember the programmer’s name now. Jim Dunion. I remember that evening we were walking past his room and smelled something funny coming from the room. I was naive and didn’t know what it was, but the others knew.
The place we had camp was an old military academy. It was presumably haunted. One night I walked down the hallway with a sheet over my head and scared the bejeezus out of the younger campers.
I attended when I was 16 in ’82. I stayed in the computer field and I’m a network administrator for a law firm in Chicago now.
Comment by Alan — July 24, 2010 @ 11:43 am
I went. I enjoyed it so much I convinced my parents to let me stay for 2 more weeks for an entire month.
Comment by David — July 27, 2010 @ 11:13 am
I worked at East Stroudsburg ’82 as an instructor and Fairbault ’83 as the “Onsite Computer Expert” (the person that taught the advanced classes and maintained the equipment). It was fun and my fiance was employed as the camp secretary, so we got to spend the whole summer working together. Having all that equipment and software available to use was fantastic. I’ve been in embedded software since then and the experience has helped me teach interns and other employees.
Comment by Doug — November 29, 2010 @ 9:07 pm
I was a camper in East Stroudsburg in 82. I remember seeing the early coupler type modems where you’d put the handset right on the modem. We also went out to see the original Tron because Atari did the graphics.
Here is a summary of what I learned:
10 Print “Scott “; 20 Goto 10 Run Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott Scott
Comment by Scott — February 8, 2011 @ 4:40 pm
I also went to the (Fairbault) MN camp back in ’83 when I was 12… what an experience! I stayed for 2 weeks and I still remember the fun, adventure, and camaraderie forged at the camp. Some of my fondest memories were working on computer programming, but I remember also all the nature hikes/excursions we took as well, including water skiing and canoeing. This was the first of many adventures I have taken over the years, and am very thankful for the experience.
Comment by Luis Garza — August 6, 2011 @ 6:25 am