Summer’s almost here, which means your kids are ready to begin their sun-filled free-for-all. But that doesn’t mean they need to wreak havoc on your work agenda. We’ve rounded up five of the best Philadelphia summer camps that’ll keep your kids engaged, active and out of your hair.
Franklin Institute Discovery Camp
This 12-week summer session for kids from pre-K to 9th grade teaches campers all about the different STEM fields through hands-on experiments and projects. “Mini molecules” (those from pre-K to second grade) will learn about outer space and basic physics with weekly themes like “Blast Off” and “Spin, Swing, Slide.” “Excited Electrons” (campers entering grades seven-nine) tackle coding and learn about natural disasters during “Tech Studio” and “Disaster Lab” week.
This day camp for children ages 5 to 14 offers all of the activities parents would expect from traditional day camp — sports, arts and crafts, and swimming — and then some. The 15-acre camp located on parklike grounds also has an indoor rock-climbing station, a go-kart racetrack and a water park. Parents can select between a three-, four- or five-day camp week and build a schedule that best fits their child’s needs.
This five-week summer language-arts camp is designed for students ages 6-12 who could benefit from some reading and writing instruction but still want to have some summer fun. The camp combines its nationally recognized language-arts program with recreational activities like swimming, arts and crafts, and sports. The best part: At the very end, students will complete a 35-event “Confidence Course” that culminates in a 40-foot-high, 250-foot-long zip wire.
Beginning immediately after school ends, this summer camp for children ages 3 to 11 features weekly themed activities that offer a continuous change-up throughout the entire summer. Kids will begin the first week de-stressing from the school year with a variety of “anything goes” activities, then start on a more structured schedule with themes like, “Sculpture Week,” “Science Week,” and “Olympics Week.” They’ll also enjoy walking trips to parks and playgrounds, “Urban Hikes” exploring the nooks and crannies of the city, sports, special events and weekly field trips.
This summer-long program offers hands-on, high-energy day and overnight camps for tech-savvy kids ages 6 to 18. Camp-goers will learn to develop iPhone and Android apps, program with C++ and Java, and design and learn the basics of creating video games and building robots. They’ll also receive individualized attention, with no more than eight students per instructor, make new friends and perhaps, even discover their passion for a future career.
