Welcome to Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center
Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center is a not-for-profit organization that provides outdoor adventure and experiential learning programs for young people from diverse economic backgrounds. Our programs are designed to inspire leadership and teamwork in the youth we serve. Located in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area, Thompson Island is a unique destination for work or play.
Corporate and social events at Thompson Island Conference Center and adult teambuilding programs with Outward Bound Professional help to support our mission and our programs for Boston's youth.
The Outward Bound Difference
For more than 60 years, Outward Bound has been delivering adventure and challenge-based courses to youth worldwide. Grounded in the educational philosophy of its founder, Kurt Hahn, the Outward Bound experience seeks to empower young people through hands-on experiences. Hahn believed “the aim of education is to inspire an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self-denial and, above all, compassion."
Using the wilderness as a classroom, Outward Bound guides students through a journey of self-discovery. By combining learning-by-doing, adventure, challenge and fun within a diverse group of students, we set the stage for them to explore their possibilities as leaders, problem solvers, and responsible citizens of the world community. The Core Values of Outward Bound - Adventure and Challenge
- Inclusion and Diversity
- Compassion and Service
- Character Development
- Learning through Experience
- Social and Environmental Responsibility
Outward Bound—Safety
Outward Bound has pioneered safety management processes and procedures that have become the model for the industry. Two primary aspects of our safety management system are our periodic Safety Reviews and our approval process for each new program. Our instructors receive regular, intensive training and most spprentice for a season or more before leading courses. Instructors are certified in Wilderness Advanced First Aid, as a Wilderness First Responder, or as a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician.
Our safety program consists of: a safety policy and national and unit standards that guide all program activity, participant screening and staff hiring. Additional aspects include: instructor manuals with detailed safety requirements, unit safety directors, safety committees, safety reviews, and annual safety reports. Instructors receive background check before being hired.
For More Information about Outward Bound, Please Visit: • Outward Bound USA
• Outward Bound Wilderness
• Outward Bound International
Thompson Island Outward Bound carries on the Outward Bound tradition in Boston by serving early adolescents from the metropolitan area. At Thompson Island Outward Bound we offer wilderness expeditions, urban programs in metropolitan Boston, environmental programs, and customized school and community group programs.
Thompson Island Outward Bound is a not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose is to provide adventurous and challenging experiential learning programs that inspire character development, compassion, community service, environmental responsibility and academic achievement. Our organization principally serves early adolescents from all economic and social communities of greater metropolitan Boston, and the institutions and adults who support them. Through the generosity of many individuals, corporations and foundations, Thompson Island Outward Bound delivers mission-based programming to a diverse group of Boston’s urban students who otherwise would not be able to participate in Outward Bound courses. In addition, our enterprise activities help support our youth programs: - Outward Bound Professional: team-building courses for adults
- Special event and conference services for corporations, associations, and social groups
Assistance is available for all of our programs.
At a glance… Since 1833, there has been an educational institution on Thompson Island. Over 170 years, the school has boasted a weather observatory, a full-fledged print shop, a farm, the very first school band in America, and the only Outward Bound middle school in the world. Read on… | 
