History of Exploration

When Ann and Arnie Singal founded Exploration in 1976, they created a unique summer experience for high school students that combined the best aspects of summer camps — close friendships, activities, and adventure — with a focus on intellectual engagement and life learning. Since then, Exploration has grown into three separate programs: the Senior Program on the campus of Yale University for students entering grades 10 through 12; the Intermediate Program on the campus of Wellesley College for students entering grades 9 and 10; and the Junior Program on the campus of St. Mark’s School for students entering grades 4 through 7.


The inspiration for Exploration comes from Arnie’s days as an administrator and freshman advisor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). While working at MIT, Arnie noticed several programs being offered to first-year college students that he felt would also be of great benefit for high school students. Working together with Ann, Arnie developed these concepts into the framework for the Exploration Summer Programs of today.

Arnie found that his MIT advisees really enjoyed their freshman seminars. Designed to expose students to new subjects and academic disciplines, the seminars provided an intimate learning environment that encouraged student participation and active learning. Because the seminars were informal and not graded in the traditional fashion, students were more apt to take academic risks than they were in their regular courses. Additionally, because the seminars had limited enrollment, students really got to know their instructors and classmates. The seminar atmosphere was lively, engaging, and intellectually provocative.

Arnie’s advisees also loved MIT’s Independent Activity Period (IAP). For one month, between fall and spring semesters, the MIT community took a break from its regular course schedule and participated in a variety of structured activities, including how-to sessions, forums, lectures, films, tours, recitals, and contests. The diversity of offerings was astounding, and students were encouraged to step outside of their comfort zones and challenge themselves by trying something new. This often meant learning about subjects that were not part of the traditional curriculum.

Finally, through a local tutoring program in which undergraduate students from area colleges volunteered to tutor high school students, Ann and Arnie saw first hand how bright, well-rounded college students could meaningfully connect with high school students. The tutors often approached the academic material in unusual ways that their students found accessible, interesting, understandable, and relevant. Moreover, the tutors not only inspired students in their academic pursuits, they also served as exceptional role models and mentors. The impact they made on their students was enormous and went way beyond academics.


The core principles on which Exploration was founded still guide us to this day. But we have expanded our work in the world of education in order to share what we have learned about teaching and building creative learning environments. Collaborating with others also helps keep our thinking fresh, exposes us to best practices, and ultimately enriches our summer programs.

Recently, Exploration participated in research projects with professors, fellows, and doctoral candidates at the MIT Media Lab, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Wellesley College. These projects allowed Exploration students to participate in cutting-edge research involving handheld devices, robots, and digital circuit design. This kind of work fires the imagination, allows us to work with very bright people, and expands opportunities for our students.

Exploration aims to connect classroom learning to the real world and that is often helped by drawing on those working in the field. For instance, stock analysts from Charles Schwaab work with our investment courses, while our Secret Service course draws on the expertise of Mike Verden of Hillard Heintze. Mike was a member of the prestigious USSS Presidential Protective Division where he planned and implemented security strategies to protect President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush.

Experienced teachers are drawn to Exploration for a variety of reasons including teacher development workshops and online courses. The Massachusetts Department of Education has recognized Exploration as a provider of Professional Development Points for public school teachers. In addition, professional educators who work with Exploration during the summer can earn up to eight graduate credits per year through New England College. The ability to offer points and credit helps Exploration recruit wonderful people to work during the academic year and summer.

Senior members of the Exploration leadership are often asked to consult with schools and other organizations. Recent work includes anti-bullying initiatives, student leadership programs, and helping faculty nurture the emotional life of boys. This fall, Exploration helped design and lead the Association of Independent Schools in New England’s Beginning Teacher Institute. When consulting, you have to listen closely, diagnose, make connections where they may have not been made before, and encourage people to do that which is not easy, but is best. This kind of work is challenging, keeps our minds sharp, and regularly makes us reassess how we approach our work with young people during the summer. It keeps us connected to school culture, which is important because that is where our students live most of the year.

Partnerships of all sorts are important to Exploration. Explo has partnered with organizations that serve the gifted and talented, such as the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (JKC), and King Abdul Aziz & His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Other organizations support our classroom work such as the BioConnection Program of Connecticut United for Research Excellence and Animalearn which provides equipment for our veterinary science courses.

Exploration is dynamic. We are always looking to improve our approach to teaching and learning in order to improve the experiences of our students.