OMAHA, NE — Each summer the KANEKO in Omaha, Nebraska, hosts a series of donation-based camps for young learners who are interested in exploring creativity and its intersection with art, education, science, design, technology, and philosophy. During each five-day camp, participants are led through a series of STEAM-based learning activities to delve deeper into the design process and its real-world applications.

RDG Planning & Design has participated in KANEKO’s Creative Camps since 2013. The firm’s 2022 offering, Omaha Riverfront Pavilion, was inspired by the resurgence of Omaha’s downtown and waterfront areas. During the camp, students learned about the riverfront’s rich history and explored the area through tours, on-site sketches, and photography exercises.

“This summer’s camp marked the second year of returning to our in-person events. KANEKO Creative Camps continued to offer their 100 percent donation-based model so the offerings were more accessible to all kids. It’s a great feeling to see the amount of creativity, excitement, and engagement that comes from each of the campers,” said Adam Wiese, an RDG Designer who helped lead the camp.

Weise was joined in leading the camp by RDG’s Courtney Riedmann, Noah Schacher, Tyler Koory, Scott Lafferty, Sam Edmundson, Juliet Hubert, Nick Olson, Kene Okigbo, Kelsey Anderson, Corey Thiele, Olivia Bolton, and Megan Grochal.

Throughout the week, campers engaged in various activities that introduced them to ideas around design. Students were challenged to design a pavilion that could capture the unexpected connections between city and nature. They began by sketching a design, modeled the structure on a computer, and constructed a physical model of their pavilion using wood blocks. The final models created as part of the camp were displayed during KANEKO’s Creative Camps Exhibition.