Pottersville has been home to many amazing programs, and this past summer it featured a summer camp that encompassed an eclectic mix of summer fun and innovative learning. With campers from all over the United States and, indeed, the world, Pottersville became the destination for cultural connections and dynamic discovery. First to arrive at the camp was a middle schooler from Virginia, then families from North Carolina pulled their van into the lot, followed by a seven year old from Idaho. And then the Australians arrived. The Biochemistry and Physics Literacy Summer Camp, a first of its kind week-long program designed by Pingry science faculty Dr. Daniel Fried and Dr. Azadeh Samadani, hosted 50 students—and their families—from 17 states, along with Canada and Australia, each and everyone packing the Pottersville dining hall to enjoy a week of chemistry and physics experiments in Pingry’s laboratories.

Shay Meyer ’31, one of the four Pingry students who attended, was one of the original Zoom students. “At camp, it was fun to meet people from all over the United States and even other countries,” he says. “It was also interesting to do advanced science like extracting DNA from a jellyfish and copying it in an E. coli bacteria.”

JingJing Luo ’34 was one of six Upper School students who were counselors and participated in labs and extracurricular activities. “I was really impressed to see not only how professional the kids were at handling the tasks given to them in the classroom, but also their ability to have fun and enjoy playing typical childhood games like charades in the Pottersville hallways.”

Contact: Dr. Daniel Fried, Upper School Science Teacher