From visiting museums to go-karting to producing a professional theatre production, these camps highlight the opportunities for fun and learning around the New York City metro area. Some camps provide strictly educational experiences, while others offer sports instruction in everything from basketball to lacrosse to surfing—sometimes in the same day.
The camps are located throughout the five Burroughs and the surrounding counties; specific locations are noted whenever possible.
Need more info before sending your kid off? Check out our Parent's Guide to Summer Camp.
Skudin Surf Inc.
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Age: 4 to 16 years old
Length: Day camp
Cost: Starting at $50
Is your child ready to hang loose? Weekly surf camps include land and ocean instruction, with one-on-one supervision for first time surfers. Campers learn about ocean safety, surf skills, balance and surf etiquette in the water, and play games and beach volleyball while out of the water. Instructors are always in the water with children to ensure safety, and all equipment is provided. Already a surfer? Experienced instructors, including visiting professional surfers, can help improve technique with performance surf coaching. Camps are located at multiple locations.
Looking for a full day of fun? Skudin Surf offers surf and skate camp, where kids can spend the morning at the skate park and the afternoon surfing in the ocean. Lacrosse and Surf Camp has visiting instructors from the New York Lizards to teach morning lacrosse, followed by afternoon surf lessons. Sababa Camp, which translates to "No Worries," offers a week of fun, surfing and spiritual growth for Jewish youth. A CIT program is available for the summer for 14 to 15-year-olds.
ESF Camps & Experiences
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Age: 3 to 18 years old
Length: Day camp, with extended care available
Cost: Prices vary by session
ESF Camps focus on education, sports and fun. Day and senior camps offer a wide variety of activities over the week, including outdoor adventures, sports, drama, science and innovation labs, swimming and martial arts. The camps offer special events throughout the summer as well, which vary across ESF locations. They run several camps in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
If your child prefers to focus on a specific area or activity, ESF has a huge range of offerings. You (and your child!) can "Choose Your Path" with programs specializing in STEM, performing arts, culinary arts, academic enrichment pathways, technology, graphic and visual design and various sports—even triathlon camp. There is truly a camp for everyone.
The Tiny Scientist, LLC
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Age: 5 to 10 years old
Length: Day camp, with extended care available
Cost: Starting at $575
Summer camps at the Tiny Scientist are designed to bring out a child's inner scientist. Themes change weekly, so your camper can study all kinds of topics, from dinosaurs to physics, from geology to sports science and from chemistry to microbiology. Each week, kids use hands-on experiments to learn about the natural world. Your child might build a balloon hovercraft, make paint using natural ingredients, learn about the laws of motion with hula-hoops or start a giant foam reaction that hits the ceiling. The Tiny Scientist is located in Windsor Terrace, near Prospect Park.
The Digital Arts Experience
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Age: 6 to 16 years old
Length: Day camp
Cost: Starting at $379
The Digital Arts Experience provides project-based STEAM camps that teach kids problem-solving and creative thinking, using state of the art technology. Camps merge together both art and science, and campers can spend two weeks learning about graphic design, digital music production or 3D design and printing; there's even a monster design camp! If you're mostly interested in one subject, other camps include coding and web design, drawing and digital photography. Digital Arts Experience is designed to be social, increasing your child's curiosity and introducing them to other STEAM topics. They are located in Westchester.
The ConstructionKids, Inc.
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Age: 4 to 9 years old
Length: Day camp, with extended care available
Cost: Starting at $476
Calling all kids who love to build! ConstructionKids helps children create castles, catapults, bridges and much more. Campers use real tools to craft projects that have been adapted for smaller hands. Four to 6-year-old builders focus on imagination and problem-solving while working with hammers, nails and other simple tools. For 7- to 9-year-olds, expect multi-day projects that introduce advanced building activities and power tools. Each week has a different theme, including Space Week and Pirate Week. Camps are located throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Dribbl
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Age: 3 to 14 years old
Length: Day camp
Cost: Starting at $80
Dribbl, named the Best Basketball Clinic in New York Magazine's "Best of New York" issue, emphasizes learning both on and off the court. Summer sessions teach kids fundamental basketball skills in a positive and supportive environment. If your child already plays, Dribbl coaches help to refine skills, including shooting, passing, footwork and ball handling, with league games available for older campers.
Dribbl calls their coaches the "secret sauce," and what makes the camp truly great. Coaches are current and former high school and collegiate basketball players and P.E. teachers who teach kids to love the game. The camp has eight locations across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island.
Backpacks and Binoculars
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Age: 2 to 4 years old (Clubhouse Explorers); pre-K to 8th grade
Length: Day camp, with extended care available; Overnight camp
Cost: Starting at $495 (payment plans available)
Brooklyn-based Backpacks and Binoculars opens up the world to campers with a combination of outdoor adventure, STEAM projects and field trips designed to introduce kids to new interests. For preschool campers, child and teacher-led play helps foster a love of reading. The curriculum also takes advantage of the warm weather with water play and outdoor games.
Older campers go on two to five excursions per week, designed around a weekly theme. Locations include the MAD museum, Mood, the Intrepid Air and Space Museum, hiking, go-karting or climbing. In addition, the campers swim or visit a splash park and have challenges based on the theme. For 5th to 8th graders, Wilderness Survival Camp lasts four nights and five days and centers around outdoor adventure, including tent camping, paddling, a ropes course, shelter building and swimming.
Kids 'N Shape
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Age: 3 to 11 years old
Length: Half-day camp
Cost: Starting at $120
Do your kids want to spend the week running, bouncing, riding a zip-line and playing games? With locations in Staten Island and Queens, Kids 'N Shape offers a variety of interactive fitness attractions. The facilities have a soccer field and basketball courts, a 40-foot inflatable obstacle course, foam pit and an Xbox Kinect. Each themed camp week also includes dance and karate instruction and arts and crafts. Camps are run by licensed New York teachers.
Random Farms Kids Theater
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Age: 2nd to 9th grade
Length: Day camp, with extended care available
Cost: Starting at $695 (scholarships available)
Random Farms Kids Theater is a non-profit children's theater company that performs professionally staged productions throughout Westchester. Created in 1995, Random Farms has piloted "The Little Mermaid, Jr." for Disney Theatricals and has placed over 50 child actors in Broadway productions.
In the two-week Summer Workshop Intensive, kids will stage and preform "Annie," "Peter Pan" or "Beauty and the Beast, Jr." In addition to daily rehearsals, campers have lessons in theater skills like stage combat, improvisation and audition technique. Each performer also has a speaking role and a solo.
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