What is Mizar?
Mizar is a project dedicated to promotion and enhancement of summer camps in Portugal.
We believe in the value of these programmes and all the benefits the participants can get from them.
We want to bring more children each year to summer camps, and help them to grow through these experiences.
To achieve that, we drive our summer camps by our concept, the Playcampus (see below).
What is our Background?
Mizar is a recent project, started in 2007, but it‘s conducted by a group of people with plenty of years of expertise
in running this kind of activities, mostly in YMCA Lisbon.
What do We do?
Overnight (residential) summer camps, of course! But we also run day camps, school trips, and outdoor sports for any kind of groups.
The Village is also a very nice place for organizing retreats, workshops, events, family reunions, accommodate church groups, etc.
What about The Camp (Mizar Village) ?
Our camp, Mizar Village, is located in the heart of Portugal, in the town of Tabua, near Coimbra. It's 2h30m driving
from Lisbon and 1h30m from Oporto. The camp is a vast property, deeply forested, that ends in the banks
of Mondego river.
There are 12 independent houses, each with a bedroom, living room, bathroom, a small kitchenette
(microwave, small fridge, dishwasher), and air conditioning. The houses are suited from 2 people (in
the bedroom) up to 8 in bunk beds. Bunk beds are easily unmounted to provide more space when there are not needed.
Two beds in the bedroom, bunk beds in the living room.
The camp also has the following facilities:
- reception
- swimming pool
- bar / disco
- small restaurant and meeting room for small sized groups.
- larger restaurant and meeting room for larger groups.
- direct access to Mondego river
And several equipment for outdoor sports, including:
- Artificial climbing wall (7.5 meters high)
- Mountain bikes
- Canoes
- Paintball equipment
Climbing wall
The Playcampus
This is our concept of summer camps. The purpose is not just to spend time at the camp and do all the
exciting activities (Play), but also to learn from them (Campus) and communicate. We try to stimulate,
in all those who participate in our programmes, feelings and positive attitudes like self-esteem,
assertiveness, independency, respect for others, self-knowledge, proactivity and motivation, so that
they can become every day more an active part of the societies they live in.
How do we do that? There is no mathematical formula! It’s the way our instructors drive the activities and the
communication in the camp; it’s a work that evolves continuously.
The Region - Tábua and surroundings
Tábua is a municipality in the heart of Portugal, in the district of Coimbra, just 30 minutes away form Portugal's highest inland mountains, Serra da Estrela.
It’s a land of small hills, valleys and rivers, with a rich historical background and monuments, where typical houses are built on granite stone.
It's part of the Dão "Protected Designation of Origin" (PDO) region, one of the most significant PDOs in Portugal,
therefore, a land of agriculture, cattle breeding, winemaking and cheese production, as well as traditional food.
Around Tábua, we can find some of the most beautiful hills in Portugal (Lousã, Açor, Bussaco), important cities as Coimbra and Viseu, and
other small towns, as Caramulo, with it's impressive Museu do Caramulo.
All in all, Tábua is an excellent region for nature sports, summer camps and other similar activities, or just for relaxing countryside vacations.
Canoeing at Mondego
The Activities
In Mizar Village, we run summer camps, day camps and outdoor sport activities for schools or other kind
of groups (such as companies). Mizar Village is also an excelent place for organizing events and workshops, and, of
course, to spend some time relaxing...and that's why we also rent our houses for the occasional visitors.
But our main activity is, no doubt, Summer Camps. These programmes are comprised of the following typical activities:
Hiking: letterboxing, treasure hunt, photo treasure hunt, orienteering.
Adventure sports: canoeing, mountain bikes, mountaineering, paintball, rappelling, archery.
Workshops: video, cooking, folklore, creative writing, expressions, recycling.
Dynamics: group dynamics, interaction dynamics.
Great Games: day games, night games, team games, exploration games.
Visits: to cultural places, mystery places, funny places.
Word and Speech: group debates and discussions.
Each summer camp programme is planned by its team of instructors, based on these activities, but developed in
a different way so that each camp is unique. The camp’s theme may vary, as well as the daily schedule; some
activities may be cancelled and replaced by others due to external factors such as weather conditions.
Camp Organization
The participants are organized in teams, based on their ages, and the teams are gathered in two groups:
one for children in the range 6-11 years old, and another for teenagers between 12 and 17 year old.
If the camp is full (90 participants) we consider creating a third group, for the ages 12-14.
Each of these groups has its own activity programme, adapted to the needs of their ages.
The participants stays in the houses grouped by age and gender.
Every team has its own instructor, and the instructors have a coordinator. The camp has proper staff
for the kitchen and cleaning, and a coordinator for them too. Above all these people, there is the
camp director.
Mizar Summer Camps 2009, in Fronteira, Alentejo
2011 Summer Camp Dates
Our camps typically run for 2 weeks, but it is possible to participate in a single week only;
all camps start and finish on Saturdays. Campers participating on one-week camps will be integrated
in the current fortnight camp teams. The dates and prices will be posted here soon.
How to contact us
If you would like get more information, email us to info@mizar.pt or
use the form in our contacts page.
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