Purpose and Identity
Camp Quest's mission statement declares that the camp is "dedicated to improving the human condition through rational inquiry, critical and creative thinking, scientific method, self-respect, ethics, competency, democracy, free speech, and the separation of religion and government guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States". The overall purpose is to provide interested children, regardless of their personal beliefs, with a residential summer camp free of religious dogma. The camp is dedicated to fostering in children an appreciation for the natural world and stressing individual dignity, self-worth, and a capacity for self-realization through reason and naturalistic principles. It promotes tolerance, empathy, self-respect, self-expression, critical and creative thinking, cooperation, and ethics. The camp intended goal is to offer a space where children who are already nonreligious can feel comfortable and accepted.
The camp's logo is based on an idea of Edwin Kagin and the original artwork of his daughter, Kathryn. The letters "C" and "Q" are combined into a sort of infinity symbol. The letters "CQ" are usually accompanied by the Morse Code for those letters, CQ being code shorthand for "Does anybody want to talk?". The name Quest is actually an acronym for Question, Understand, Explore, Search, Test. The camp's slogan is, "Camp Quest. It's beyond belief!"
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