Luminaries is a creative survivalist scouts program where children ages 5–10 earn badges through real-world making, outdoor skills, problem solving, and hands-on creative projects.
Duration
16 Weeks
Challenges
8+ Proj
Ages
5–10
Rewards
8 Badges
Next Session
Starts in September
CREATIVE SKILL BUILDING
Every session, children work side by side in small pods, building real friendships through shared making. As they grow in skill and character, they earn badges that mark the journey.
Kids learn better when they learn together. Luminaries pairs community accountability with a clear milestone system, so children are always reaching toward something, and celebrating each other along the way.
We don't just teach craft, we build creative thinkers. When a child figures out why their clay cracked or how to fix an uneven stitch, they're developing patient, iterative problem-solving that carries them through school and into life.
Week 1: Welcome to Luminaries, every beat of the session, every skill your child builds, and what they take home on day one.
Explore LessonsThe Full Journey
Every Luminary progresses through a clear arc. Little Luminaries (5–7) and Rising Luminaries (8–10) each move through three journeys, and every journey runs Fall and Spring — same outcomes, fresh projects, deeper each time.
Learn the tools, build confidence, and begin thinking like a maker. Scouts earn their first patches and learn that tools, materials, and ideas deserve care.
Apply creative skills through increasingly independent projects and collaborative problem-solving. Kids take on pod roles and start thinking like designers.
Lead, collaborate, mentor younger peers, and prepare to graduate into the next chapter — Rising Luminaries begin a whole new three-journey arc.
Fall + Spring Semesters
Each journey runs across two semesters — Fall and Spring — with the same core learning outcomes. What changes are the projects, themes, materials, and field missions, so the studio stays fresh. It's a spiral curriculum: each journey revisits familiar ideas with greater complexity and independence, so children can start in either semester and keep growing.
SMALL GROUP LEARNING
Looking games, sensory building, and story-led making. Little Luminaries earn Safe Maker, Reflection Starter, Craft Explorer, Nature Helper, Little Trader, Team Player, Brave Helper, closing the season with the Bright Spark Crest.
Enroll Ages 5–7Serious observation, material intelligence, real problem solving, and the Wunder Mix enterprise. Rising Luminaries earn Tool Steward → Field Guide Keeper → Applied Artist → Form Follows Function → Survival Scout → Value Maker → Pod Builder → Luminary Leader, closing with the Luminary Crest.
Enroll Ages 8–10PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Learn to look. Drawing, surface & pattern, building in space, and telling stories over time.
Learn to make. Print, fiber, clay, and a challenge to design something useful.
Learn to solve. Reading nature, color from plants, knots that carry water, and a real field challenge.
Learn to build together. Wunder Mix enterprise → Luminaries Market → Exhibition night.
Semester Tuition
Full Semester
$995
per Luminary
16-week semester · all 4 phases · 2-hour weekly pod sessions
Save when you pay-in-full.
Tuition includes
Badge pack and uniforms sold separately. Rates are subject to change at anytime.
Pay Per Phase
$375
per phase
Enroll one phase at a time · 4-week block · continue or pause between phases
Priority re-enrollment for the next phase.
Each phase includes
Field Guide binder and capstone exhibition included with full semester only. Rates are subject to change at anytime.
Pods are intentionally limited to 12 Luminaries.
Try Before You Enroll
Open-studio Saturdays where families can sample the four foundational Luminaries labs, Light, Color, Build, and Motion, before committing to the full season.
3rd Saturday · September–December · 12–2 PM
Light Lab
Light + observation
Color Lab
Color + transformation
Build Lab
Construction + structure
Motion Lab
Movement + sequence
The Enterprise
Capstone ExperienceWunder Mix is the Luminaries' small enterprise, a hands-on business built and run by scouts. Five signature blends, designed, produced, packaged, and sold by kids. Every bag funds the capstone Exhibition.
Questions Parents Ask
Luminaries is a creative journey, not a traditional grade level. Children join by age group — Little Luminaries (5–7) or Rising Luminaries (8–10) — and every new member begins with Journey One of that cohort. A 6-year-old joins Little Luminaries and starts at Journey One: learning the tools, building confidence, and beginning to think like a maker. From there they grow through Journey Two (independent projects and collaborative problem-solving) and Journey Three (leading, mentoring, and preparing to move into Rising Luminaries). When they graduate into Rising Luminaries, they begin a brand-new three-journey arc built for older learners.
Little Luminaries (ages 5–7) learn through play, sensory building, and story-led making across Journeys One, Two, and Three. When children move up to Rising Luminaries (ages 8–10), they begin a new three-journey arc with more advanced tools, more complex design challenges, greater ownership of projects, stronger leadership expectations, and deeper reflection. They're not repeating what they learned — they're building on it at a developmentally appropriate level.
Each journey runs across two semesters — Fall and Spring — and both semesters share the same core learning outcomes. What changes are the studio projects, themes, materials, and field missions, so the experience stays fresh. It's a spiral curriculum: each journey revisits familiar ideas with greater complexity and independence, which means your child can start in either semester and keep growing through new studio experiences.
Yes, we accept mid-season enrollments when a pod has space. New scouts receive a buddy check-in and a personal catch-up plan so they feel welcomed and can jump into the current project. If a pod is full, we add your child to the waitlist for the next 4-week phase or the following season.
Life happens. We send a short Field Guide recap after every session so families can review what was covered, and instructors are happy to do a 5-minute check-in at the next pod. Full-semester families also get access to the digital lesson portal with photos and prompts for at-home extension.
Luminaries is a drop-off experience. Parents are welcome to observe the first 10 minutes of a Discovery Day, but regular sessions are designed for independent peer learning. Pod leaders maintain a 1:6 ratio and are background-checked, first-aid aware, and trained in our studio safety rituals.
Dress for mess. We provide smocks, but play clothes are best. Closed-toe shoes are required for tool days. Scouts bring only a water bottle and their Field Guide; all studio materials, tools, and take-home projects are included in tuition.
Small pods are built for this. With only 12 scouts and mixed-age projects, every child has a role. We use buddy systems, quiet observation options, and celebration of process over performance. Many parents tell us their shy child found their voice in a pod because making together lowers the pressure to perform.
All Luminaries tuition, uniform, and merchandise sales are final. Full-semester and phase payments are non-refundable. If a pod does not run due to low enrollment, we will transfer your payment to a future session or issue a credit. Please read our full Terms and Refund Policy for details.
Still have a question? Email hello@joinluminaries.com
Fall 2025 · Limited Spots
Sessions run 16 weeks with small pod sizes. Give your child the skills, confidence, and community to grow.