Gr. 4-6 Camps: Art, Culinary, Engineering, Robotics, Gaming, Programming, Science
REGISTRATION OPENS: February 5th, 2026 at 5:00pm!
Register before 2/27/2026 to receive the EARLY BIRD discount of $30 off per camp. We have sibling discounts and multi-camp discounts that are automatically applied when you register more than one child or for multiple camps at the same time.
2026 Grades 4-6 STEAM CAMPS
Camp Dates: June 15-July 24, 2026.
Location: Vieja Valley School, 434 Nogal Dr. Santa Barbara, CA 93110
Click to review our 2026 Camp PROCEDURES and Policies.
Early Bird Registration: $30 off per camp through February 22nd.
Register for more than one camp at the same time and receive multi-camp discount of $10 per camp! Sibling discount is an additional $10 off.
CHART for Gr. 4-6 Summer STEAM CAMPS
These Camps are for rising gr. 4-6 students. Please do not enroll your child for a camp that requires a “higher” grade level than your child is entering. However, you CAN register “down” a grade level. Camp descriptions below the chart!
To Enroll, Click on REGISTER Button at Top of Website!
| 2026 Week | June 15-19 | June 23-June 26 | June 29 July 3 | July 6-10 | July 13-17 | July 20-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CREATIVE WORKS: ART, MOVIE-MAKING & THEATRE | ||||||
| Traveling Artists Gr. 2-6 | ✔️ | |||||
| Famous Faces & Places Gr. 2-6 | ✔️ | |||||
| Great Masters Gr. 2-6 | ✔️ | |||||
| Fantastic Beasts Gr. 3-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| HP: The Legend Lives On Gr. 3-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| Special Effects & Movie-Making Gr. 4-8 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||||
| Extreme Art Gr.4-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| Manga Maker Comics Gr.4-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| Mini-Theatre Creation Gr.5-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| Digital Art Gr. 5-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| Intro to Sketching Gr. 5-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| COUTURIER, SEWING & FASHION | ||||||
| Sew 4 Fun Gr. 2-4 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||||
| Couturier Fashion Gr. 5-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| CULINARY & FOOD SCIENCE | ||||||
| Bakers Delight! Gr. 4-8 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||||
| Edible Science! Gr. 4-8 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||||
| ENGINEERING, ROBOTICS & TECHNOLOGY | ||||||
| SPIKE Robotics Gr. 1-4 | ✔️ | |||||
| Young Robot Builder Gr. 1-4 | ✔️ | |||||
| Space Engineer Gr. 2-4 | ✔️ | |||||
| Robot Carnival Games w/Vex Gr. 4-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| Robot Search & Rescue Robotics Gr. 4-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| Architects & Engineers Gr. 4-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| Product Engineer Gr. 5-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| GAME DESIGN & PROGRAMMING | ||||||
| Code & Design w/ Scratch Gr. 2-6 | ✔️ | |||||
| Smart City w/ Lego & Scratch Gr. 2-6 | ✔️ | |||||
| JavaScript Programming Gr. 4-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| Game Maker Gr. 4-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| RPG VXAce Game Maker Gr. 4-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| Beginning Minecraft Gr. 1-4 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||||
| Minecraft Supreme Gr. 3-8 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
| Ultimate Minecraft Modding Gr. 5-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| Roblox Modding Gr. 5-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| SCIENCE | ||||||
| The Art & Science of Superpowers Gr. 1-4 | ✔️ | |||||
| Secret Agent Gr. 2-4 | ✔️ | |||||
| Starry Night Far…FAR Away! Gr. 2-5 | ✔️ | |||||
| Detective Academy Gr. 3-6 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||||
| Edible Science Gr. 4-8 | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||||
| Forensics Science/ Academy Gr. 4-8 | ✔️ | |||||
| Mad Scientist Laboratory Gr. 4-8 | ✔️ | |||||
Creative Works: Art, Movie-Making, Theatre
NEW! Traveling Artists – Gr. 2-6
Grab your passport and head out on a bold art adventure throughout the world! From our Pacific Northwest to Mexico, Europe, Russia, Japan and China we will construct 2D and 3D art projects using clay, watercolor, acrylics, charcoal, oil pastels, foil, metal, wood and paper. Some examples include: Alaskan Totem Poles, Aztec masks, Taiko drummers and Poi/Hula dancer paintings, Origami paper folding, Stonehenge sculpture, Inuit wood burning, Japanese Kokeshi dolls, Greek Pottery, Chinese Dragons, Ghanaian cloth, Indonesian Batik creations, a Gauguin landscape, and lots more.
Great Masters of the World! – Gr. 2-6
Design, draw, build, paint, construct, engineer and sculpt as you explore the great artists, designers and architects of the world while creating your own distinctive flair! Travel throughout time as you experiment with thick paints like Van Gogh, go wild with clay a la Pablo Picasso, design 3D Nevelson sculptures, experience first-hand the challenge of doing Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings, discover the playful art of Matisse, and create the amazing works of Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe. Learn design engineering skills to build architect Julia Morgan’s Hearst castle and imaginative fairground rides, construct a prototype flying machine like Leonardo da Vinci, create 3D abstract architectural designs, and fashion rescue bots via Robin Murphy. This camp offers hands-on projects while combining art, architecture and engineering!
Famous Faces & Places – Gr. 2-6
Explore your way through the world of ART that spans the globe! Create artwork in the style of famous artists like Rivera, Höch, Kandinsky, Dali, Klimt, Monet, Warhol, and Delaunay using clay, watercolor, acrylics, charcoal, oil pastels, scratchboard, illustration markers, and soft pastels! From the Eiffel Tower, to deserts, igloos, the Colosseum, windmills, and famous cities, travel throughout time and location. Inspired by work from France, Germany, North American, Mexico, Holland, India, Japan, and Italy, campers create exciting projects that bring together art and architecture from around the world!
NEW! Harry Potter 2: The Legend Lives On! – Gr. 3-8
Let your imagination run wild as we celebrate Harry Potter’s Birthday with all new projects! From fiery phoenixes, devious Cornish pixies, and screaming mandrakes, to a tri-wizard cup, sorting hats, potions, spells…and all things magical, come join us for the time of your life! Search for Horcruxes throughout the week, team up for our Harry Potter Trivia Game, design the sword of Gryffindor and your own wand. Make a house points counter and track how many points you earn throughout the week. Create a crystal ball and learn the art of divinations! Become Rita Skeeter and write articles for the Daily Prophet and design a Quibbler cover! Draw your favorite heroes (Harry, Hermione & Ron), sculpt Slytherin’s locket and ring, a basilisk, and Ravenclaw’s Diadem. Make Tom Riddle’s diary, brew up Butter Beer, and create a chocolate frog card, dark mark sticker, patronus, and lots, lots more! Bring your favorite HP book(s) to camp to freshen up on spells, characters, and discuss analogies to the muggle world today. So much magic to do! REQUIREMENT: READ THE BOOKS!!
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Gr. 3-8
Grab your suitcase, catch the train, and join the hunt to find the fantastic beasts who await your arrival! Explore our guide to Mythical Creatures and learn where to find them. In this special wizard camp away from the muggles of the world, you will design your own suitcase, construct a Bowtruckle, paint an Occamy egg and Merpeople, draw a Phoenix and Doxy, sew a loveable Niffler, make a Deathly Hallows necklace, sculpt the wild Erumpent, and invent your own incredible creature! Throughout the week, take notes, create a map and draw sketches in your special journal. When our travels come to an end, take home your suitcase of beasts and note-worthy journal.
NEW! Special Effects & Movie Making – Gr. 4-8
Campers learn the science behind Hollywood’s special effects and movie making and techniques used by professional make-up artists to simulate cuts, bruises, artificial blood, and aging effects. Activities demonstrate how light, sound, perception, and illusion are used to create movie magic. Campers create (and take home!) their own short film made using stop-motion animation, learn about plot development, storyboarding, set building, filming, and sound effects along the way. Is there a future filmmaker in your house? This is a camp your child won’t want to miss!
Campers take home their very own Special Effects Makeup kit AND ZU3D Software and Webcam, to continue their film making journey.
EXTREME Art! – Gr. 4-8
Take art to a new level! Whether you are an accomplished young artist or someone who thinks they can’t do any art, we promise you are in for a hands-on 3D fun experience with wood burning, tie-dyeing, drawing, printmaking, weaving, sewing, and clay sculpting that is truly EXTREME! Use charcoal to draw on aqua-board creating unique mixed media designs. Learn to use a special pyrography (wood burning) tool to “draw” designs, patterns and texture into wood and dried gourds. The ancient Greeks called it “writing with fire”. After the design is burned in, shading and coloring can be added. Discover the art of printmaking, how to carve linoleum blocks into stamps, create a masterpiece using natural items, and a collagraph abstract print. Dye fibers using natural indigo and tie-die your camp t-shirt to the EXTREME! Design and sew your own creature and sculpt 3D projects with clay. Create faux vase using a heat embossing tool and weave your own tapestry with card or hand looms from simple to complex. So much to experience…too little time!
Manga Maker Comics – Gr. 4-8
Make your own high-quality Manga Comics using ComiPo manga software! Campers can easily create their own unique stories and situations using the library of 3D character models! Explore narrative elements, like point of view, character expressions, and social justice themes such as environment, healthcare, human rights, gun safety or world hunger. Throughout the week, you will learn Manga drawing techniques and look at examples of Japanese Manga. Create comics full of action and suspense by building a story arc with a beginning, middle, and end. With over 100 unique body poses and facial expressions to choose from, along with many background images, items, sound effects, word balloons… you have everything needed to make a visually impressive and professional looking Manga Comic come to life.
NEW! Mini-Theatre Creation – Gr. 5-8
Explore the world of theatre as you build a mini–Proscenium Arch theatre, make a light box to light up the stage and set the mood, create roles for stand-up animal characters to play in Western, Superheroes and Medieval background scenes and film your own movie. Bring your imagination and love of creating stories to camp as you learn storyboard techniques, point of view, film angles, lighting, and special effects. Then using ZU3D software and webcams, create play acts full of action and suspense with this engaging theatre and cast of characters!
Take Home: Mini-Theatre model, a light box, background scenes, characters, and the ZU3D Stop Motion Animation Kitwith software licenses, webcam, green screen, modeling clay, mini-set background, and handbook. A flash drive for camper’s film is included.
Intro to Sketching – Gr. 5-8
Sketching is something you can do anywhere anytime with just a pad and pencil. Sketching is freehand drawing that focuses on capturing the essence rather than going into details and it takes patience to learn! Students will explore proportion, perspective, light and shadow as they sketch basic shapes in life drawing. Learning to draw the cube, the cylinder and the sphere are fundamental shapes artists need to know. Discover different mark making methods and how to use soft and hard graphite pencils and a blending stick. Each student will take home their sketch book with their showcase of sketches as well as their drawing pencils.
Digital Art w/Wacom Tablets Gr. 5-8
In this camp, campers learn to digitally draw on the computer using a Wacom tablet and to use the digital art tools that come with it. Discover how to structure a piece and use the tools provided by the program to draw and experiment with colors and blending techniques. This is an incredibly creative medium as there are fewer limits when compared to traditional art. This camp is geared towards young artists who are interested in exploring this art media, who want to start a digital art portfolio or who just want another creative outlet to express themselves! Understanding digital art tools and programs has become an increasingly important part of art, design, and creative industries.
Couturier, Sewing & Fashion
Sew 4 Fun! – Gr. 2-4
Campers will learn to translate an idea to a design on paper, sew by hand and on a machine under carefully managed sewing machine time. They will learn basic pattern making skills, safety skills and how to create patterns for their designs. Once patterns are made campers will construct their designs using hand-sewing techniques and simple sewing machine stitches (straight and zig-zag). At the end of the week they will create a custom project from start to finish. Examples of projects include: plush toy, tote bag, house shoes, apron, play cape and mask, pillowcase, and more! Sewing machines, fabric, and all sewing tools are provided. Students will take home their own personal sewing kit. Maximum of 10 students per camp.
NEW! Couturier Fashion- Gr. 5-8
Couturier in French means high end fashion design and sewing! In this camp, our young couturiers will learn to draw fashion, translate an idea to a design on paper, sew by hand and on a machine learning various stitches to embellish as they convert 2D ideas to 3D custom projects. Discover how to create a fashion line, label and logo, and try your hand at accessory design. Learn to draw a croquis (a quick sketch of a fashion figure) and illustrate a look on top. Use template cards of poses which include a wide range of occasions and body shapes, then design your clothing on top of the pose. Draft patterns, choose fabrics, and create custom projects like a Chef’s apron or cloak, house shoes, costume, tote bag, pillowcase and more. Our week culminates in a showcase of your designer sketchbook AND your sewing creations!
Culinary Arts & Food Science
Bakers Delight! Gr. 4-8
The best smell is bread, the best savor is salt, the best ingredients are fresh! Bake wonderful goodies from scratch using fresh ingredients! From traditional dinner rolls to protein packed savory cottage cheese dill bread, whole wheat cinnamon rolls, and sweet potato biscuits, learn the simplicity of making fresh bread. Add to that quiche muffins, fruit scones, and turnovers. Then discover how to create basic white and yellow cake and flaky pie crusts. Is there more, you say? Oh yes, we finish the week off with some specialties like, Naan, Monkey Bread, and Peach Fruit Cobbler! Throughout the week, campers discover the art of baking and learn kitchen safety and clean-up skills. Your child will go home with their recipes planning to be the next great baking chef!
Teams learn cooking safety, organization techniques, and clean-up skills.
NEW! Edible Science! Gr. 4-8
What do solar ovens, gummy candy, and chocolate have in common? You’ll find out at Edible Science!Campers become food scientists as they engineer solar ovens, make homemade ice cream, and churn butter by hand. They’ll experiment with natural ingredients like seaweed, beet juice powder, and beta-carotene to create colorful gummies, sample and compare four types of honey, and discover the many uses of lemons (think smoothies & dessert). With pickling, preserving, and plenty of tasting along the way, this is a perfect camp for curious minds and adventurous taste buds!
Engineering, Robotics & Technology
SPIKE Robotics – Gr.1-4
What if your LEGO creations could move, light up, and tell a story? Using the latest LEGO SPIKE Essential Robotics kits, campers become inventors, engineers, and storytellers as they design and build awesome creations like space rovers, helicopters, catapults, carnival games, swamp boats, and even friendly battle bots. With motors, sensors, and block-based coding, kids learn how to make their projects move and react. Campers go beyond robots by creating whole worlds for their LEGO minifigure characters—building ziplines, marble mazes, bridges, vehicles, and Plinkoboards. using a combination of LEGO bricks and KEVA planks. They’ll add Scratch coding and virtual backgrounds to tell stories, solve challenges, and show off their inventions. Along the way, students build confidence while learning the basics of engineering, robotics, architecture, and programming. Create, build, test, repeat!
Young Robot Builder – Gr. 1-4
Do you know how robots actually work? In this camp, you will discover the mechanics of how robotic machines work and move. Using snap circuit technology, build your own remote controlled “Mars -like” RC Snap Rover which can perform up to 23 activities and explore the world with you! Learn the physics behind conductivity and circuitry and the principles that allow robots to function with Makey Makey. Design complete electrical circuits with unexpected items – like playdough, bananas, or liquids and explore the science behind this phenomenon! Using K’NEX Exploring Machines, create simple machines and discover how they are incorporated into more complex machines. Wrap up the week by designing your own Roll-A-Robot project! This camp is packed with engineering concepts, fun and excitement! Campers take home the Mars RC Rover and Roll-a-Robot project created in camp.
Space Engineer – Gr. 2-4
Five, four, three, two, one…Blast Off! Have you ever wondered how rockets get into outer space? Or maybe you’recuriousabout how rovers and robots are used on Mars and in space exploration? Then this is the camp for you! Throughout the week campers will track the International Space Station while learning about the Solar System, design and launch stomp rockets as they discover propulsion, friction, force, gravity, and aerodynamics, make their own “space gloves”, and investigate how space suits are made safe from the environments astronaut’s encounter. Campers use Lego WeDo2 to create brick models of a Satellite, Mars Rover, Lunar Lander, Space Shuttle, Droid and Space Fighter and then program them with Scratch! Make way for the final frontier… this is a camp your child will not want to miss! Make way for the final frontier… this is a camp your child will not want to miss!
NEW! Robot Carnival Games Gr. 4-8
Step right up, Step right up! 🎪
Young builders and bright thinkers, gather ‘round for a marvelous week of robotics and carnival thrills! Try your hand at constructing and commanding your very own mechanical marvels using VEX Robotics sensors, wheels, beams, wires, motors, gears, and programmable robotic brains. Build, program, and steer clever contraptions through twisting “hall-of-mirrors” mazes while discovering the secrets of motors, steering, and traction.
But wait — the excitement grows! Send your trusty bot into a rollicking round of team Bumper Cars and behold how these wondrous machines use sensors to spy on the world and make decisions of their own.
And for the grand finale? The Cube Stacking Game! Craft a self-driving ClawBot and race to stack blocks sky-high in a test of skill and ingenuity.
No experience required — only a curious mind and a fondness for building and play. Come one, come all, and let the robotic revelry begin!
NEW! Search and Rescue Robotics Gr. 4-8
Calling All Curious Minds!
We need YOU for a search and rescue mission! In this camp, you’ll become an engineer as you build, code, and design search and rescue robots that can navigate natural disasters, deliver vital supplies to remote areas, and help people in need. Using programmable and modular VEX Robotics kits with snap-based rods, controller, multi-port brain, and sensors, learn how robots are used in disaster relief as you and your teammates tackle daily challenges that mimic real-life search and rescue scenarios. Get ready to:
- Simulate exploring a collapsed building by programing your robot to autonomously navigate a maze
- Model the rapid delivery of food and water to disaster sites by using your robot as a remote-controlled vehicle and racing to move cubes between two points
- Clear “debris” from a rockslide by building a clawbot that can lift and move objects.
Along the way, you’ll learn about the engineering design process, the fundamentals of mechanical systems, and how to program a computer. No prior experience required! If you’re curious, love solving problems, and want to use technology to help others, this is the camp for you. Are you ready for your rescue mission?
NEW! Product Engineer Gr. 5-8
In this camp, discover the intersection of design, engineering, science, and technology as you build and assemble robots and engineering projects:
- Build and take home your own: 3-in-1 All Terrain Robot (ATR), a multi-function tracked mobile robotic kit. Utilize different track modules and make your robot transform into 3 amazing variations: the forklift, rover, and gripper. Using the wired controller, command the robot to move forward, backward, turn, grip and lift anything up to 100g.
- Build and take home your own: Eco6, a fun project kit powered by natural light that creates a walking robot, street roller, bottle yacht, drummer robot or flying bird. Build and play in an eco-friendly way using recycled materials and solar energy.
- Get familiar with Newton’s Laws of Motion and the forces that govern our universe as you tackle the challenge of designing a hot air balloon, launching a stomp rocket, and building the tallest gumdrop tower.
- Explore electromagnetism through hands-on projects and learn how engineers are using this fundamental force to design the high-speed MagLev trains of the future.
As camper engineers understand the scientific laws of motion and electromagnetism force, learn the skills of mechanical assembly, and use design problem solving skills they are prepared to delve into more sophisticated engineering projects and innovation.
Architects & Engineers- Gr. 4-8
Grab your hard hat and step into the world of iconic architecture! Campers travel through history to uncover how ancient builders and engineers designed structures that still inspire us today. Using BrickLabs manipulatives, students bring legendary creations to life—from towering castles to the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, and Parthenon. Campers explore how different cultures combined creativity, art, and engineering to build structures that could stand the test of time. With new buildings today reaching higher into the sky, architects and engineers are constantly working through questions of structure and style. Through hands-on challenges, blueprinting, and design experiments, campers investigate forces like gravity, balance, and stability while learning how engineers turn bold ideas into real-world structures.
Game Design & Programming
Code & Design with SCRATCH & Makey-Makey- Gr. 2-6.
Go to the next level of coding with Scratch & Makey Makey! Program with, quirky graphics, and fun sounds to make a character (sprite) walk, speak, play music, or interact with other sprites. Add in “Makey Makey” microcontroller that uses resistive sensing and turn everyday objects into keyboards, including random items like fruit, graphite, ice, modeling clay, and more! Scratch has a rich library of built-in features to create animated stories, interactive movies, games, and an art block to create images, illustrations, and sculptures. Learn fundamental coding concepts such as sequences, loops, conditionals, variables, and functions.
Scratch never ends, students can take it continually and develop more skill and sophisticated projects!
NEW! Smart City with Lego & Scratch Gr. 2-6
In this hands-on robotics and coding camp, campers use Lego WeDo2 and SCRATCH to BUILD a busy city, MAKE it move and PROGRAM how it works! Each day focuses on a different part of city life, from transportation and construction to energy, rescue, and exploration. Campers will: construct city vehicles like fire trucks, forklifts, cranes, helicopters, and trains; build important city systems like elevators, wind turbines, pumps, and cargo lifts; and use Scratch programming to bring their creations to life with motors, sensors, and interactive behaviors. As the city grows, campers discover how real machines help people work, travel, and stay safe. Through teamwork, creative building, and coding, they learn core engineering and computer science ideas. No prior coding or robotics experience needed—just imagination and a love of LEGO!
JavaScript Programming – Grades 4-8
Learn to program in JavaScript with a focus on creativity and confidence, a next level up from SCRATCH! Utilizing a video coding platform and web programming language designed for tweens & teens, students create videos, games, graphics, animation, filters, and their own “meme”. As they create, students see a thumbnail of the project and code behind it side-by-side. As they make changes to the code, they can see the effect in the thumbnail. A very exciting and fun way to learn to program! Students gain problem solving skills and learn about the core programming concepts of sequence, functions, variables, and objects.-
Game Maker – Gr. 4-8
This fun and challenging game design camp teaches skills in programming, digital literacy, animation, and 3D modeling. Using project-based curriculum and user-friendly custom game design software, students are involved in creative game design projects for multiple levels of experience. The software is a 3D creation tool that’s changing the way students discover video games, cultivating critical thinking and problem-solving, and propelling students to excel in game design while deepening their understanding. Come discover the games YOU can create!
RPG VXAce Game Maker – Gr. 4-8
This never-ending game, RPG Maker VXAce, shows campers how to create their very own epic role-playing game in the classic 2D game style like Zelda, Pokemon, Final Fanasy, and Dragon Quest! Create your fantasy adventure with playable zones and maps, develop characters with interactions and dialogue to fill your world, create allies and implement enemy encounters…all to achieve your ultimate quest! RPG Maker focuses on developing a story and creative worlds instead of mechanics and game physics, so that campers jump into creating their adventure immediately. Campers learn what RPG is, the history of RPG, all the basics, the character, and all aspects of the game. Make your role-playing games come to life! Once you have finished your world you can export your game to a portable EXE file that can be played on any Windows system. You can share it with your friends, your family, or even the Internet. Flash Drive is included.
Beginning Minecraft Adventures – Gr 1-4
No Experience Needed! Think Minecraft is just a video game? Think again. Create, explore, and put your problem-solving skills to the test in Survival or Creative Mode adventures. In Survival Mode there are many hidden dangers, and you have only minutes to find food and shelter before darkness falls and the monsters come looking for you. What do you do? What we teach you might just save your life! Learn how to find resources; make a shelter; craft tools, armor, and weapons, and protect yourself from monsters. In Creative Mode there are no monsters, and you will be able to fly around and have unlimited resources to build amazing creations and buildings. Campers create their own adventure map as design, production, and test playing guide them. What kind of adventure will you choose?
NO Minecraft account is needed for THIS CAMP as we have licenses ready for in class use. Just come and learn the basics, as well as techniques and strategies of this great game!
Minecraft Supreme – Gr. 3-8
No experience? Take Beginning Minecraft 1st. Do need experience using a computer keyboard, not just tablet or IPAD use. Minecraft™ has taken the world by storm with its block-building, digital game design that allows players to build, explore, create, collaborate, and even survive. Students take on the real-world jobs of programmer, game designer, artist, and architect. With no set rules, you can build anything you can possibly imagine. Students learn Creative and Survival modes of playing. They use cool mods as they escape monsters, build amazing structures, create maps, mine the world under their feet, climb the tallest mountains, and utilize robotic “turtles” to manipulate the vast world around them. They will learn real coding techniques to program their turtles to accomplish tasks while working as a team with other campers to unleash their creativity!
Ultimate Minecraft Modding – Gr. 5-8
Required: VERY EXPERIENCED with Minecraft and interested in CODING. Camper must be entering 5th grade and have “Minecraft Supreme” experience.
Did you know that Minecraft was built using Java code? If you aspire to be the greatest Minecraft warrior of all time, this camp is for you. Kids NEVER reach the end. When taken multiple times, campers are challenged to write more complex code and build more mods, all NEW. While building a variety of mods (games within the game) using a code editor that supports both drag-and-drop and text-based programming in a single environment, you learn valuable real-world programming skills. The code editor allows campers to learn at their own pace while participating in a group and teaches fundamental concepts like algorithms, data types, variables, and loops. Explore your creativity through real computing and have a blast sharing mods with your friends! This MODDING camp can be taken repeatedly!
ROBLOX Modding & Game Design – Gr. 5-8
Become a coding Ninja! Learn to make your own Roblox games first using drag and drop programming and then learn to write real Lua code with its kid-friendly conventions to program more advanced games and 3D worlds. Code, test, and publish your own Roblox games. From building your own Obby to launching a tycoon game, we will teach you the skills you need to build games inside the Roblox platform. NO ROBLOX Modding accounts are needed for THIS CAMP as we have licenses ready for in class use.
Science
NEW! The Art & Science of Superpowers – Gr.1-4
In this STEAM based camp of art, science and engineering projects, we will dive into the comic book world full of heroes, villains, challenges and triumphs to discover the secrets of superpowers! Explore what makes flight possible, investigate web-slinging and grip, and test strength, speed, and balance as we connect science to real-world action. Discover how forces like gravity, friction, and motion show up everywhere—from sports fields to everyday life. Construct a glove with claws like Wolverine, make a Bat Cave diorama, draw your favorite comic book characters, make a mask to keep your identity a secret, and learn to pencil and ink like professional comic book artists. From comic-book heroes to real-life role models, campers are empowered to become heroes of creativity, science and community awareness! Whether you’re an amazing avenger or an uncanny mutant, this camp is sure to be a lot of fun.
Secret Agent – Gr. 2-4
Everybody loves a good mystery. Mysteries can take us out of ourselves and lead us to explore the far reaches of our imagination. But mysteries don’t just happen in books or movies, “Who Dunnit” investigations happen in real life as well. Our young detectives will collect evidence and facts to find the culprit of a devious plot. Through hands-on projects, we will learn about forensic science and how detectives and forensic scientists use science and critical thinking to do their job. We will search for clues, collect and analyze evidence, draw reasonable conclusions and leave no stone unturned! In no time at all, you will be thinking like a detective.
Sample Projects include: spy decoder and missions, maze obstacle course, footprints, invisible ink, DNA, special agent badges and disguises, fingerprinting, and lots more!
NEW! Starry Night Far…FAR Away!– Gr. 2-5
Look out into the night sky as we travel across the Milky Way to investigate the universe and other galaxies far, FAR away. Explore the cosmos in a challenging trivia game that will have you guessing about everything under the sun, and some things over it! Learn about planets, constellations, and the Greek Mythology behind them. Discover the Galaxy of Horrors and planets beyond our Solar System. Construct a Solar System model, galaxy in a bottle, constellation medallion, moon phase game, sun dial and telescope. Solve universe mazes and make a spaceship diorama. Let your imagination run wild as you venture into galaxies FAR, FAR away and create models of your favorite aliens or imaginary creatures. When you reach your final frontier, drive around in the Rover Robot you build to learn about Mars and the three Rovers, Sojourner, Oppy, and Perseverance, that explored its surface. Then wrap up the week making Moon Cookies together!
NEW! Detective Academy – Gr. 3-6
What does a stolen bunny, a broken cookie jar, a dollhouse, and a footprint all have in common? Find out as you put your deductive reasoning skills to work solving crimes and mysteries that would unravel any camper! Do some serious sleuthing as you use real-world techniques and equipment to analyze evidence found at mock crime scenes and read detective stories. Play out the role of investigators, witnesses, and suspects as you work together to solve these crimes. Learn about, Frances Glessner Lee, the “mother of forensic science”, who created crime scene models from dollhouses to train investigators. Will you be able to discover who broke the cookie jar, figure out whose footprint was left at the crime scene, find the real bunny thief, and save Honey the Bunny before it’s too late?
Camper projects include: DNA tests, finger prints and lip prints, microscopy, hair and fiber analysis, chromatography.
NEW! Special Effects & Movie Making – Gr. 4-8
Campers learn the science behind Hollywood’s special effects and movie making and techniques used by professional make-up artists to simulate cuts, bruises, artificial blood, and aging effects. Activities demonstrate how light, sound, perception, and illusion are used to create movie magic. Campers create (and take home!) their own short film made using stop-motion animation, learn about plot development, storyboarding, set building, filming, and sound effects along the way. Is there a future filmmaker in your house? This is a camp your child won’t want to miss!
Campers take home their very own Special Effects Makeup kit AND ZU3D Software and Webcam, to continue their film making journey.
NEW! Edible Science! Gr. 4-8
What do solar ovens, gummy candy, and chocolate have in common? You’ll find out at Edible Science! Campers become food scientists as they engineer solar ovens, make homemade ice cream, and churn butter by hand. They’ll experiment with natural ingredients like seaweed, beet juice powder, and beta-carotene to create colorful gummies, sample and compare four types of honey, and discover the many uses of lemons (think smoothies & dessert). With pickling, preserving, and plenty of tasting along the way, this is a perfect camp for curious minds and adventurous taste buds!
NEW! Mad Scientist Laboratory! Gr. 4-8
In this mad science laboratory, explore the fun of chemistry experiments, discover genetics, practice medical skills, design prosthetics and antiviral solutions, engineer crash helmets, study pathology slides under the microscope, create chemical reaction hand-warmers and MAKE cheese! Discover how heredity works with BrickLab Genetics as you build DNA strands, watch gene mutations and learn how parents with blue eyes can have a baby with brown eyes. Design and create prosthetics for elephants, eagles, and even fish and engineer helmets for crash-test dummies. Investigate how germs and viruses spread, design solutions to stop a contagious disease, inject shots into oranges, suture bananas, build models of lungs and digestive systems and discover the chemistry of making cheese. Other experiments in this fun and maddening week include paper chromatography races, fluorescent polymer slime production, homemade chewing gum, litmus indicator solutions, and electricity in a test tube.
NEW! Forensics Science & Holmes Academy Gr. 4-8
“Elementary, My Dear Watson”! Be Sherlock Holmes for the week and use forensics skills to solve real crime cases, including one “cold case” dating back to 1842. Watch Basil of Baker Street – the Great Mouse Detective Disney movie and try your hand at facial reconstruction! We will read Sherlock Academy Book, solve brain teasers, and learn about Frances Glessner Lee, the “mother of forensic science”, who created crime scene models from dollhouses to train investigators. Campers will learn about hair and fingerprint analysis, DNA tests and blood typing, and discover how luminal and UV light are used at a crime scene. This camp is guaranteed to enhance problem solving and critical thinking skills as campers play out the role of investigators, witnesses, and suspects, evaluate crime scene evidence and draw conclusions based on their findings. Adding to the intrigue, campers use FACES facial reconstruction software that can detect, identify, and analyze human faces and facial features. Campers can recreate themselves or their favorite literary character. This is the same software the television program America’s Most Wanted uses to create composite pictures of suspects and victims!

