About Us

Will Macfarlane

During the rest of the year, Will makes tools for creative learning at JoyLabz. Before moving to Providence he co-founded and co-directed Parts and Crafts with Katie Gradowski. He is also a dad to a 6-year-old who is extremely excited about camp this summer.

Will likes to teach kids how to use tools, program computers, make simple electronics and big cardboard contraptions. His favorite tool is the hot-glue gun and he loves to run around outside and play games.

Michael Nagle

Michael became deeply interested in learning after feeling disillusioned with his math education at MIT. This led to visiting alternative models of schooling and drawing inspiration from the Lifelong Kindergarten group’s work on computers as creative sandboxes. Out of that exploration came the first Camp Kaleidoscope in Cambridge in 2006.

Michael is fascinated by learning, psychology, spirituality, and mathematics. Since receiving a stage-4 cancer diagnosis he has also delved into functional medicine and systems biology. Reviving Camp is on his bucket list—to give this creative work a happy, healthy home that can outlive him and support generations of kids in exploring their own versions of creative autonomy and social belonging.

Katie Gradowski

Katie loves telling stories, making beautiful things out of popsicle sticks, crafting, exploring, and making new friends. She is a lawyer by day and is thrilled to set the briefs aside and jump back into the education space with Kaleidoscope for a few weeks this summer.

Kolya Shields

I'm a writer, community worker, and artist based between Worcester and Providence. I paint, make videos, music, and poetry, and curate at Small Format, a cooperative queer third space/gallery/cafe.

I went to unschooling camps as a child & teen (including a past iteration of Kaleidoscope!), and deeply believe in the power of child autonomy-centered exploration, because I know the impact it had on me! I'm interested in helping kids discover, transform, and play with their passions in a pressure-free environment. I grew up near Boston; my favorite color is lilac.