Beam Center
 A weekly campfire at Beam Camp, the longest-running program operated by the Beam Center. | |
| Formation | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Brian Cohen, Danny Kahn |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Tax ID no. | 45-4273449 |
| Location | Red Hook, Brooklyn |
| Website | https://www.beamcenter.org |
Beam Center, founded in 2011 by former Elektra Records executives Brian Cohen and Danny Kahn, is a youth development and education organization based in Red Hook, Brooklyn that has offered in-school, after-school, and summer camp public education programming since 2012.
After-school and in-school programming
[edit]Since 2012, Beam Center has conducted workshops for second grade to high school students in applied arts, architecture, building, design, and engineering, among others.[1] Working with more than 25 schools each year, Beam Center creates curriculum that provides an alternative to traditional in-school instruction.[1] They also offer an Apprentice program, which provides youth with the opportunity to foster their leadership and job-related skills.[2]
Summer camps
[edit]Beam Center's longest-running program is an Archinect award-winning[3] annual sleepaway summer camp called Beam Camp. Based in Strafford, New Hampshire,[4] Beam Camp solicits yearly proposals for sophisticated design projects and constructs them with a team of 100+ campers and professionals from various fields.[5]
In July 2021, Beam Center opened Beam Camp City, a summer day camp adjunct to Beam Center on Governors Island in partnership with the New York City Department of Education and The Trust for Governors Island.[2]
History
[edit]In 2004, Brian Cohen, then senior vice president for marketing at Elektra Records, left to form a summer camp inspired partially by his experience at 'the Lighthouse,' an art and music camp in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania.[6] Naming it "Beam" as a partial homage to the Lighthouse, Cohen's plan for a summer camp evolved into a plan wherein staff and campers would work together to build a large, 'iconic' project each summer.[6] Alongside Danny Kahn, another former Elektra Records executive,[2] Cohen joined the American Camping Association and began searching for a site to build their camp.
Beam Camp began the next summer in 2005, eventually finding its home at a former Boy Scouts of America campsite in Strafford, New Hampshire.[4] Each summer, campers and staff work together to create large-scale, multi-part creations like a giant "Nexus Canopy" in 2005— modular wood and canvas units that could be rearranged into theaters, mazes, and other spaces; "Creatura" in 2014 — a 20-foot human-powered vessel floating on the camp lake; and "Pipe Tree" in 2016 — a “fully-functioning, human-operated pipe organ” nestled amongst (and shaped like) the trees in the forest.[7]
The camp ran for 5 years as a standalone organization, until Beam Center was founded in 2011 in New York City, aiming to bring the Beam Camp experience to kids who couldn’t afford or didn’t receive a scholarship for the limited space available at camp.[7] Iterating on their 'big project' model, Beam Center began working with Brooklyn International High School, building a giant interactive sculpture[7] and teaching "programming, carpentry, metalwork and digital storytelling skills."[7]
In the 2013-2014 school year, Beam became a contracted vendor with the New York City Department of Education.[8]
Inventgenuity Festival
[edit]In 2010, Beam Center began hosting the Inventgenuity Festival, a free event that invites anyone aged 6-18 to enroll in workshops centered around the arts and sciences.[2]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Affordable Art and Children's Workshops Head to Bergen Street". DNAinfo New York. Retrieved 2026-09-25.
- 1 2 3 4 Graeber, Laurel (2021-08-19). "A Quirky Design Fair Finds a New Home: Governors Island". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
- ↑ Fulcher, Merlin (2024-11-09). "Competition: Beam Camp 2025, USA". The Architectural Review. Retrieved 2026-09-25.
- 1 2 Bookman, Todd (2017-08-15). "Where Swimming & Sports Take a Back Seat...This Summer Camp's About Building Stuff". New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved 2026-08-06.
- ↑ Scelfo, Julie (2011-03-30). "Kindergarten Shop Class". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-08-06.
- 1 2 Kelly, John (2004-08-08). "HOME FRONT/Erin St.; Trading Boardroom for a Camper's Bunk". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-23.
- 1 2 3 4 internationalednews (2017-12-06). "Beam Center: From Summer Camp to the Core of Schools (Part 1 of 2)". International Education News. Retrieved 2026-09-23.
- ↑ internationalednews (2017-12-13). "Beam Center: From Summer Camp to the Core of Schools, Part 2". International Education News. Retrieved 2026-09-23.