Cabin leaders are screened and selected by the school. They are typically either upperclassmen from the local high school or parents accompanying their children.

Teachers assign students to specific cabins. They typically make sure that there is a balance between staying with friends and getting to know other classmates better.

No. There are separate dorm areas for each gender and students are not allowed to visit other dorms.

There are several staff members on Heartland grounds around the clock to ensure that the grounds are safe and secured. Cabin leaders will also stay with the students in their dorm area. As a general rule, if a camper is not with an adult, they are in the wrong place.

Because the days are jam-packed with educational and recreational activities, there is very little room for downtime. After dinner each day, there is a short period of “cabin time” before moving to evening activities.

We serve a variety of meals designed with the student in mind. Teachers are given a list of example meals, which they can share with parents. Breakfast includes hot items and cereal with milk and juice. Other meals include a salad bar and juice.

We do our best to accommodate special dietary needs and restrictions. Please make sure your child’s teacher is aware of any dietary needs at least two weeks before your child’s camp stay so that Heartland may be prepared with special meal-time options. We may suggest that your child bring along a few food items depending on the situation.

You can send the medication to Heartland with the school. The school’s nurse will distribute medications to the students at meals, bedtime, and other times as needed. By law, in order for the nurse to be able to give your child medication or supplements, it must come in the original container that it was purchased in. All prescription medications must have the prescription label attached. For your convenience, we keep typical over-the-counter medicine, such as pain relievers, in stock so that you do not have to send them with the school.

We recommend students bring two bags. One bag can be a suitcase or duffel bag with their clothes and toiletries. We suggest the second bag be a labeled trash bag with all of their bedding needs, that way their pillow and blankets are easy to carry and not exposed to the elements. You will want to pack an extra bag in case the first bag gets damaged.

In addition to bedding and toiletries, pack seasonal clothes. Because classes and activities are done outside and weather can change at a moment’s notice, make sure that your child brings rain gear and warm clothes. Tennis shoes or hiking boots that can get dirty are required; sandals can only be used in the showers. Students that dress in layers tend to be the best prepared. Of course, in order to focus on the outdoor environment, please do not bring any electronics other than a camera.

The best thing to do is to write on the tag of clothing with a permanent marker. For other items, such as cameras and flashlights, please write your child’s name with a permanent marker on an area that is visible. If they pack their sleeping bag or blankets in a plastic garbage bag, make sure that it is clearly labeled or decorated so they can find it easily. Using duct tape as a label can make this process easier and more visible.

There’s no such thing as a typical day at Heartland! But to give you a general idea, the campers wake up at about 6:45 a.m. and get ready for the day. They also have to clean their cabins before flag raising at 7:45 a.m. They eat breakfast and then go to two classes before noon lunch. After lunch, they attend two more classes. After the second afternoon class, the campers have afternoon activity time where they pick from a variety of activities led by the staff. Dinner is served at 5:15 p.m., followed by two evening program hours which may include Campfire, Relays, Wacky Olympics, Dance Night, or Theatrics. Campers return to the cabins at 9:00 p.m. to get ready for bed; lights out is at 10:00 p.m. (Younger children will have only one evening activity so that lights out can happen at 9:00 p.m.) The Heartland staff will rove the cabin area around that time to make sure that everyone is quiet for the night.

Most classes are designed to be taught outdoors, rain or shine. Students are asked to bring rain gear and warm clothes, regardless of the time of year they come. We will not teach outdoors in dangerous conditions, such as thunderstorms or heavy rain. Some of our classes can be adapted to be taught indoors, and we have a few special “storm-only” inside classes to replace classes that can only be done outdoors. Our staff watches the weather so that we can immediately implement plans at the first sign of a storm, and our facilities are equipped to handle tornadoes and power outages.

The classes are not typical school classes. Teachers select the classes from among a variety of science-based and team-building class options. Some of the most popular options include Reptiles and Amphibians, Eco X-Stream, Team Challenge, Wilderness Survival, Archery, and Ohio Living History.

While visiting camp is discouraged for safety and homesickness concerns, we do offer some ways that you can connect to your child at camp. The easiest, most convenient method is to click the “E-mail a Camper” button at the top of the website and fill out the form. If you send mail or packages to Heartland’s address, please make sure to include your student’s name and school on the envelope. You will need to make sure that Heartland receives the package or letter before your student arrives at camp. If the item is mailed too close to your school’s arrival date, it may arrive after your child has left camp.