Inside Duke Medicine
Media Spotlight: News & Observer features Camp Kaleidoscope
posted July 21st, 2010
Kenneth Darnell, 13, swings from the ceiling beams of a cabin at Camp Kaleidoscope. The camp gives children with chronic or terminal illnesses a typical sleepaway camp experience, right down to the sparsely furnished cabins. Photo by Shawn Rocco
By Ilana Yurkiewicz
When the handler pulled the first snake out of its bag, there was a chorus of gasps and murmurs from the Camp Kaleidoscope kids sitting around her.
"Oh my gosh, it's tying itself into a knot!" one camper called out. Some jumped off their logs to get a closer look.
A show-and-tell with snakes is a time-honored feature of the sleepaway summer camp experience. At Camp Kaleidoscope, kids also swim, sail, play sports, and do arts and crafts.
But the place affectionately known as "Camp K" isn't an everyday summer camp. Hosted by Duke Children's Hospital, the camp is for children with chronic and terminal illnesses, including cancer, HIV, sickle cell disease, heart disease and asthma.