Summer Camp Descriptions

Our STEM education team is excited to bring back old favorites and introduce new themes during this year’s summer camps, for grades pre-K through 6. Topics include art, biology, carpentry, chemistry, coding, engineering, magic, media, paleontology, space, and more.

PreK/Kindergarten

Busy Bugs 
What's bugging you? Discover what makes these multi-legged animals so fascinating and important to the world as you collect and examine bugs (real and plastic ones), make a bug house to take home, and create bug art. Find out how a bug's life keeps them so "busy."

Chemistry Cooks
Turn a kitchen into a chemistry lab using items from the grocery store. Measure, stir, and bake to see how chemicals and heat cause color changes and create fun foams. Indulge your inner foodie through food-themed crafts and imaginative play.

Dinomania
Dive into the world of dinosaurs! Look at dinosaur bones, create your own dinosaur models, and visit our Dinosaurs & Fossils Gallery for a week of dino-focused fun.

Fly, Float, and Vroom
Experiment with gravity, gears, wheels, ramps, tracks, and vehicles in motion. Play the Go, Dogs, Go! game and make a car or truck to take home.

Grades 1-3

Arcane Academy (full day camp)
Come where fantasy and fact are swirled together to create bewitching tales. Experience the limits of your imagination as you craft your own magical creature. Hone your skills of observation as you distinguish fact from fiction and explore the boundary between magic and science. Equip yourself with the tools you need to become a legendary sorcerer.

Calling All Marine Biologists 
Through hands-on activities, look at the adaptations of ocean animals, from dolphins to fish to octopus. Dissect a squid and make a coral reef model.

Carpentry Artpentry
Get comfortable with a hammer and saw as you develop carpentry skills. Build gadgets that allow you to create unique masterpieces in unexpected ways. Show off your creativity and craftsmanship with works of art and engineering.

Code a Bot
Use a unique coding system to program a mini robot called an Ozobot. Make Ozobot dance, do tricks, and work together with other Ozobots. Create costumes and design a neighborhood for your Ozobot. Your ideas make the Ozobot move and groove!

Code Your Way Out (full day camp)
Solve puzzles, beat challenges, and code your own virtual escape room using Scratch or ScratchJr. Work collaboratively to decrypt codes and ciphers, and send your own secret messages through the power of computational thinking.

Express YourShelf
By popular camper demand, this is the newest entry to our lineup of carpentry camps! Campers will measure, saw, sand, hammer, and decorate a 12”x18” bookshelf, suitable for holding books, collectibles, or any other precious items. Whether you’re new to carpentry, or ready to *build* on your skills, you’ll have a great time Expressing YourShelf.

Foam Lab
Uncover the bubbly and exciting science behind foam by concocting foamy chemistry experiments, building with plastic foam, and playing with mountains of shaving cream.

Fossil Finders
Dinosaur and fossil fans, this is the camp for you. We'll visit all your favorites at the museum: Triceratops, Diplodocus, and even T. rex. Explore and excavate ancient fossils, experiment with dinosaur teeth, and see the world from a dino’s view.

Get Set to Be a Vet
Explore what veterinarians do and what it takes to become one. Discover how best to take care of your furry, feathery, and scaly friends. Get hands-on with veterinary techniques as you learn to understand common ailments, examine real animal specimens, and perform treatments as a vet-in-training. 

Intro to Carpentry
Head to the workshop and safely start to use carpentry tools such as saws, hammers, and nails. Measure wood and build a wooden toy to take home.

Launch Lab
Spend a week experiencing the science of motion! We'll experiment with many different ways to launch and propel vehicles, rockets, and more. How can we overcome the force of gravity to make things move?

Magic at the Museum
Warm up your cauldrons, crack open your spellbooks, and get excited for a week of practical sorcery. Experience the magic of everyday science by mixing potions and conjuring transformations as you discover what’s fantastical about the natural world.

Marble Run Engineering
Use your imagination to design a marble run that uses twists, turns, and tricks that defy gravity. Let the good times roll right through your marble run as you create, test, improve, and occasionally fail while always having a ball.

Minifigure Movie Stars
Make a LEGO® Minifigure into the star of your animated film adventure. Learn new animation skills every day as you add scenes to your movie. Build sets, edit video, and add sound and credits before sharing your film with friends and family online.

Nature Inside and Out (full day camp)
Investigate the wonders of the natural world both inside and outside! Navigate in and around the museum, go behind-the-scenes to explore the museum’s natural collections, and tackle nature-based engineering challenges.

Ocean Expedition (full day camp)
Dive into the deep blue sea to discover whales, sharks, and other deep sea creatures. Create your own marine animal for a room-sized ocean art installation. Learn about marine creatures and their unique adaptations, and explore human impact on the salty solution that covers two-thirds of Earth’s surface.

Reaction Lab
Get ready to think like a chemist while experimenting with gassy reactions, exploring the properties of dry ice, and manipulating some messy mixtures and silly solutions.

Space Explorers
Get ready for an out-of-this-world adventure! Launch rockets, design a spacesuit, and train like an astronaut as we take our journey through the stars.

STEM at Play
Join us for a special afternoon camp filled with play-based science experiences. We'll have a full spread of activities, games, crafts, and an excursion into exhibits or around the museum campus each day. Campers set their own pace and choose their adventures to have STEM learning fun all week long! (formerly Museum Adventure)

Super Scratch 
Create your own simple interactive animations, learn the basics of computer programming, and design a simple computer game using ScratchJr, a fun program that will help you explore coding. Improve game building skills by creating your own board game.

Grades 4-6

Arcane Academy (full day camp)
Come where fantasy and fact are swirled together to create bewitching tales. Experience the limits of your imagination as you craft your own magical creature. Hone your skills of observation as you distinguish fact from fiction and explore the boundary between magic and science. Equip yourself with the tools you need to become a legendary sorcerer.

Calling All Marine Biologists 
Through hands-on activities, look at the adaptations of ocean animals, from dolphins to fish to octopus. Dissect a squid and make a coral reef model.

Carpentry Furniture
Learn the lingo of the carpenter and the tools of the trade. Build a pine and plywood table to use in a fort or bedroom.

Code Your Way Out (full day camp)
Solve puzzles, beat challenges, and code your own virtual escape room using Scratch or ScratchJr. Work collaboratively to decrypt codes and ciphers, and send your own secret messages through the power of computational thinking.

Design a Computer Game
Use your imagination to program your own interactive game or story using Scratch. Whether you’ve tried coding before or not, you’re sure to grow your skills and have fun while taking on exciting new challenges.

Dino Discovery
If you dig fossils, this camp is for you! Visit the Dinosaurs & Fossils Gallery. Look at the latest research on dinosaurs and a variety of fossil animals and plants. Use the tools of a paleontologist to excavate and explore. (formerly Be a Paleontologist)

Express YourShelf
By popular camper demand, this is the newest entry to our lineup of carpentry camps! Campers will measure, saw, sand, hammer, and decorate a desktop organizer and a large 12”x12”x36” bookshelf, suitable for holding books, collectibles, or any other precious items. Whether you’re new to carpentry, or ready to *build* on your skills, you’ll have a great time Expressing YourShelf.

Get Set to Be a Vet
Explore what veterinarians do and what it takes to become one. Discover how best to take care of your furry, feathery, and scaly friends. Get hands on with veterinary techniques as you learn to understand common ailments, examine real animal specimens, and perform treatments as a vet-in-training. (Note: Camp for grades 4-6 includes watching a dissection.)

Launch Lab
Spend a week experiencing the science of motion! We'll experiment with many different ways to launch and propel vehicles, rockets, and more. How can we overcome the force of gravity to make things move?

Magic at the Museum
Warm up your cauldrons, crack open your spellbooks, and get excited for a week of practical sorcery. Experience the magic of everyday science by mixing potions and conjuring transformations as you discover what’s fantastical about the natural world.

Maker Space: Make Your Space
Use techniques like carpentry, circuitry, weaving, and more to make useful and unique items to deck out your personal space. Choose your own way to construct and create your works of art and design that will make your place pop.

Marble Run Engineering
Use your imagination to design a marble run that uses twists, turns, and tricks that defy gravity. Let the good times roll right through your marble run as you create, test, improve, and occasionally fail while always having a ball.

Mechanical Makers
Explore gears, mechanisms, and machines on your way to designing, creating, and sharing your own amazing storytelling contraption called automata (aa-taa-muh-tuh).

Mini Golf Maker 
Design and build a tabletop mini golf hole. Improve your design as you play through your group’s course during the week, and putt your way to fun! 

Nature Inside and Out (full day camp)
Investigate the wonders of the natural world both inside and outside! Navigate in and around the museum, go behind-the-scenes to explore the museum’s natural collections, and tackle nature-based engineering challenges.

Ocean Expedition (full day camp)
Dive into the deep blue sea to discover whales, sharks, and other deep sea creatures. Create your own marine animal for a room-sized ocean art installation. Learn about marine creatures and their unique adaptations, and explore human impact on the salty solution that covers two-thirds of Earth’s surface.

Reaction Lab
Get ready to think like a chemist while experimenting with gassy reactions, exploring the properties of dry ice, and manipulating some messy mixtures and silly solutions.

Video Mashup
Discover video editing and special effects. Combine short video and sound clips using Canva to create your own extended movie, and then use a green screen to add yourself to a story you create.