"A life-changing event."
"A thinking person's vacation."
"The best week I've had in ten years."

That's how past participants describe the annual Summer Seminars of The Objectivist Center. The twelfth Summer Seminar in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on June 30, will set new benchmarks for excellence and enjoyment.

What is the Summer Seminar?

It's a week-long cultural feast...where you can take a full course on Ayn Rand's philosophy—plus presentations on the state of our culture, the philosophy of history, and the literature of Victor Hugo-then attend a poetry reading, or even give a presentation of your own. All that and more...on the very first day.

It's a free marketplace of ideas...where, in an atmosphere that encourages open discussion and debate, brilliant teachers will help you explore and understand thinkers such as Rand, Aristotle, Plato, and the Stoics. But it's also an environment that nurtures your personal growth, offering you daily practical workshops on personal growth, understanding jazz, or improving your writing skills. You can take art classes from an internationally renowned painter and artist, study the beauty of architecture, and discuss how to change the culture.

It's a summer holiday excursion...where you can explore America's industrial heritage, dare white-water rivers on a raft, visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater home, tour world-class museums, or simply relax with new friends.

Finally, it's a week of fellowship, families, and friends...where you'll live in a close community of happy, accomplished people, eager to share your ideas and values, and to forge relationships that can last a lifetime.

All this awaits you at The Objectivist Center's Twelfth Annual Summer Seminar.

If you've been to a past Summer Seminar, you already know what kind of experience awaits you. But if you've never attended before, the best testimonials come from our past attendees.

"You have to be here!" insists Jim Jeck, who brought along his entire family for a unique vacation. Adds veteran participant Thach Pham: "If you want to learn more of a philosophy for living on earth, there is not a better place on earth than the Summer Seminar conference." Faith Farr, who attended in 1999 with her husband, John, wrote us saying, "It has taken us 10 years to show up...In the future, the question won't be 'Should I go?' but 'How can we arrange things to make sure we go?'" Her sentiments are echoed by fellow participant Hanah Metchis: "If I had to get a second job to pay to go even to Africa for a Summer Seminar, I would do so in a heartbeat!"

From the opening picnic to the closing banquet and dance, the Center staff has done everything possible to make this event an experience you'll always treasure.