Mission

Our mission is to create supportive communities for youth that foster personal growth and empowerment through cooperative play and storytelling.

Program Philosophy

As we grow up, we are often forced to unlearn many of the inherent skills that children possess. We learn to streamline our day to day lives, play less, take fewer risks, and become grounded in the “real world”.

At Wayfinder, our programming encourages participants to rediscover the things they may have grown away from (or to practice and embrace those things that are still present within them). By leveraging the powers of play and storytelling, we help people reconnect with the hero inside. We teach play and improvisational skills that promote teamwork and self confidence, and empower participants to explore identities and build empathy through LARP by creating and living out the lives of new characters.

Through explorative play, our campers learn how to take up space, work collaboratively, and build empathy, all in a fun and supportive environment.

History

The Wayfinder Experience was initially spun off from an organization called the Adventure Game Theatre (AGT) in 2002. AGT was a summer camp that contained the seeds of Wayfinder’s programming, such as improv, playing with foam swords, and LARP. The Wayfinder spinoff further developed these seeds with an added focus of community building and more immersive Adventure Games, and eventually reabsorbed AGT.

In 2012, long-time staff and community members Corinne McDonald and Trine Boode-Peterson took on ownership of the company in order to expand its offerings. In 2023, Judson Packard and Janet Packard became joint-owners as well in order to support the company’s continued growth, as the number of after school programs, offseason camps, and custom events skyrocketed.

In 2025, The Wayfinder Experience began the transition to become a nonprofit organization in order to better enable the company to serve its mission.

Wayfinder Core Values

At The Wayfinder Experience, we firmly believe in giving everyone the space they need to become the person they want to be, and have been practicing holding that space and honing that process for over 20 years. Wayfinder, in collaboration with our staff, campers, and community members, has developed a list of core values that are used to guide our programming choices:

Creativity
Our programming is based on improvisation and play. This crosses over into our interactions with the space we play in and with the people we play with. Building creative spaces allows for self expression without judgment and teaches resourcefulness and joy. This shows through in the big and small moments of our day – the sword fights, the goofy times, and the moments where we are able to practice vulnerability with one another.

Identity
Our experiences in and out of the Adventure Game are chances for personal growth and transformation. We create myriad opportunities for exploration of identity, empowerment, and bravery that result in boosting self esteem, a deeper understanding of self, and development of close friendships.

Community
Having a strong community allows people to feel connected to something bigger than themselves. We work to foster a community that is respectful of the environment and of others by practicing communication, boundary setting, kindness, and collaboration. It is important to us that participants find a sense of belonging and inclusion, and so we aim to make our community accessible to diverse groups of people.

Play
All cultures play, and we firmly believe in the benefits of playing for people of all ages, so we take every opportunity to provide play that brings opportunities for joy, fun, and even a little chaos. It is proven that play is a highly effective method in learning and while we are not an explicitly educational program, our events help participants build identity and gain confidence in a fun and light way.

Health and Wellbeing
If our play and community isn’t safe, then none of the other positives we provide can be achieved. We work hard to ensure the safety of our campers by centering both physical and psychological safety in our games and systems. Structuring our community around safety builds the trust needed to allow for deep play and exploration.