Since 2009, the Henson Center has been proud to partner with the local Camden organization, UrbanPromise, hosting their UrbanBoatWorks program! Through a hands-on boatbuilding program, 50 middle and high school students annually learn hands-on skills while applying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in our boat shop. 

The students handcraft paddleboards, canoes, kayaks, skiffs, and sailboats, and then launch them on local waterways in New Jersey. As they work in the boat shop, alongside caring volunteer instructors and mentors, students gain confidence and learn the skills needed to become leaders among peers and productive, engaged adults!

Working in our boat shop, young boatwrights are introduced to the basics of boatbuilding, such as:​​​

• Cedar strip construction

• Stitch and glue construction

• Plywood and frame construction

• The geometry of boat design

• Physics of buoyancy

• Camden’s waterfront history.