Summer is coming. While you might have picked out a fabulous vacation spot or two for the family, you still have eight weeks to fill. To avoid summer learning loss and maintain your own sanity, we have found a few not-so-typical camps you may not have yet considered in your summer planning.
10. Experium Science Academy, Torrance – Homeschool moms rave about the science opportunities at this local center which offers “the only hands-on, afterschool science education” in the South Bay. Summer camps run from June 23rd to August 15th.
9. California Science Center, Downtown – With programs from preschool to 8th grade, CSC offers great youth programs with more than 30 courses available in hands-on science opportunities – with great names that will intrigue the kids like “Survival Science” to “Chemical Chaos” to “Sticky, Icky, Yucky.”
8. UCLA Young Scholars Summer Program, Westside – OK, so kids love to go to school in summer right? The K-6 set might be interested in this academic program that is staffed by folks from UCLA’s Lab School, if only for the name!
7. Digital Media Academy, Westside – Also offered at UCLA, DMA has camp experiences for teens in music production, 3D Game Design, Robotics, Web Design and more. For your planning convenience, their site even tells you if your favorite week is “filling fast” or “almost full”.
6. Robotics Camp Suggestions by NASA, Various — OK, we figured if anyone knows, NASA would know where to head for your Robotics interests. Here are five suggestions on Robotics camps in California (and beyond). Happy Mindstorming!
5. LMU Summer Camps, South Bay – From Aquatics to Cheer to Volleyball Camps, you can find anything for your budding athlete at LMU’s Summer Camps – and not too far from home.
4. Salle D’Asaro Fencing Club, South Bay – What do Olympian fencers do after they represent the U.S.? They create amazing programs in their favorite sport to develop the next generation. This is exactly what Michael D’Asaro, who competed at the Atlanta Olympics, has done in Torrance. The three-year old club currently has fencers on national teams in four countries. If you can’t tell a sabre from a foil, this might be the place to have your kids take a swag at this sport.
3. American Red Cross Leadership Development Camp, Westside – For students entering 6th through 9th grades, have you ever seen this one? It’s a great opportunity for your students to meet students from all over Southern California and build valuable leadership skills for life at one of the most respected nonprofits around.
2. Star Education, Various – Voted “Best Summer Camp” by L.A. Parent, Star Education offers camp options from Culinary Arts to Magic to Spanish and Chinese Immersion. If your kid loves our science labs, they will adore the Exotic Wildlife Rescue Center at the Star Eco Station in Culver City, too (worth a daytrip!)
1. UCode, South Bay – Possibly the best kept secret in town is UCode. Tucked in a strip mall near Costa, you’ll find the brainchild of Scott Mueller, a Pennekamp dad and computer science graduate, in this center that teaches kids as young as 6 to code. Open since 2012, UCode brings relevancy and fun to coding, making the experience rewarding for scores of local kids. Who knows? Your kid’s idea might IPO before he or she takes the SAT.
Other Sources to Check Out:
CAMP VIP – Run by MBX, our familiar hometown folks offer up plenty of opportunities from chess to “Edible Science” to camps for funky divas. There’s even a great camp to get kids ready for Middle School led by MBMS Counselor Iris Lee Knell.
CAMP EXPO – OK, you missed the event this year by Meadows PTA (for the benefit of MBEF, thank you Meadows!), but you can still check out participating camps right here.
EASY READER “SOUTH BAY GUIDE TO SUMMER LAND CAMPS. Written last May, this great guide is worth checking out for content, but check 2014 summer dates.
