Bay Area Summer Camps for Unforgettable Childhood Experiences
Summer break can be the perfect time to enroll kids in summer camps that will help them grow, explore, and have fun in safe, interactive environments while they aren’t in school. These Bay Area summer camps have convenient locations all over the area and focus on themes such as building a love of nature, encouraging scientific experimentation, and learning life skills such as cooking, sewing, and gardening.
7 Bay Area Summer Camps with Exciting Educational Programs
Galileo
1021 3rd Street
Oakland, CA 94607
Camp Galileo is a unique take on the traditional summer camp, offering exciting, innovative educational programs at locations across the San Francisco Bay Area. Their programs are suitable for kids in kindergarten through 10th grade. Camp Galileo knows that the world needs solution-oriented problem solvers and strives to help kids build confidence and creativity as they navigate the big world around them. Galileo has been serving Bay Area families since 2002.
Camp Galileo has over 50 locations and is still growing, and has served more than 225,000 campers since its opening in 2002. There are many programs to help kids develop self-confidence, come up with creative solutions to problems, and learn how to navigate today’s society.
Peekadoodle
4228 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94118
Peekadoodle offers camps for preschool-aged children with themes like art activities, cooking classes, music and dance, outdoor exploration, and much more. An experienced team of preschool teachers who aim to provide engaging, enriching, memorable experiences for young children lead the camps. Peekadoodle offers four 2-week camp sessions throughout the summer, each with a unique theme.
Camp themes include Exploring Art, Exploring Cooking, Exploring Science, and Exploring Imagination. They provide snacks for the children, and extended care and lunch options are also available. Kids can paint, draw, use clay, measure, sift, whisk, do science experiments, engage in imaginative play, and have fun role-playing and dramatic play in these engaging summer camps.
Canvas Dance Arts
5499 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
Canvas Dance Arts has just moved to a new studio in San Francisco’s Richmond District, and it is the perfect spot for any kid who loves to dance! Furthermore, this studio offers a variety of youth dance classes, outdoor dance classes, and summer camps!
Canvas Dance Arts offers a Summer Dance Camp at California Street and Beverly Street. The Beverly Street studio offers both indoor and outdoor classes. Multi-week and sibling discounts are available, making these classes both fun and affordable! Spaces fill up quickly, so be sure to register early. They offer summer camps in June and July; families can register online.
City Kid Summer Camp
4414 Lincoln Way
San Francisco, CA 94122
City Kid Summer Camp is the best way to explore the city, one adventure at a time! This camp offers safe, aware, active outdoor explorations in the city by the bay. City Kid Summer Camp knows that growing up in the 21st century means kids spend most of their time indoors, but this can cause them to miss out on the many amazing parts of outdoor adventures.
This camp seeks to help the next generation become responsible, respectful, and environmentally aware as they get outside and interact with the fantastic world around them.
Camps include social time, active play, exploring trees and dirt, and enjoying the freedom to explore the world around us. All kids are safe and supervised as they learn to channel their boundless energy into empowering, positive interactions in an outdoor environment. Moreover, kids can enjoy exploration, imagination, and growth at this remarkable camp.
Steve & Kate’s Camp
2550 25th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94116
Steve and Kate’s Camp believes that kids learn valuable lessons through self-exploration and self-directed learning. Kids gain confidence by making choices and making mistakes. At Steve and Kate’s Camp, kids have both freedom and guidance, with the camp’s unique approach that prepares kids to navigate the real world.
Steve and Kate’s Camp knows that children deserve the world. Through self-assurance, they can become confident members of society. Camps allow children to ramp up and wind down with various recreational choices. For much of the day, kids can choose from many different activities and control their time. Activities include The Stage, Robotics, The Bakery, Sewing Salon, Stop Motion Animation, Tinker Lab, Sports and Recreation, Water Play, and the Lounge.
Bean in Nature
Locations in Morgan Hill, Cupertino and Woodside
At Bean in Nature, mentoring in nature inspires learning in young children through nature immersion, earth science, stewardship, wild art, social-emotional wellness, wildcrafting, inquiry-based learning, gardening, ancient living skills, and natural history education. Children also discover their primal selves through adventures in the natural world and build relationships and skills while engaging with the natural world.
Bean in Nature’s mentors support children and grow their natural curiosity and passion for the earth through mentoring, guided exploration, and hands-on activities. The caring staff team uses ancestral teachings and primitive technologies to help kids learn to respect the natural world. Furthermore, child-directed experiential learning and acute observation allow kids to “learn by doing,” which is essential to their education.
Kids can also learn survival skills, ecology education, and a curiosity for the planet. Camps are week-long nature immersion programs that help kids gain confidence, a love of learning, friendships, a strong self of self, and more independence.
Destination Science
2322 Crestmoor Drive
San Bruno, CA 94066
Destination Science is an innovative atmosphere where kids feel comfortable connecting with others in a warm, encouraging environment. Kids love that this camp encourages them to be smart and explore their natural curiosities.
Destination Science offers educational experiences that are fun for kids, with enjoyable activities that involve making messes, playing with robots, and creating movies. Kids can have a blast at summer camps while they learn about concepts such as the scientific method and how to form a hypothesis.
Highly qualified and engaged staff run the camps, which include three hands-on lessons each day, and feature activities that help kids recognize the importance of working together. This camp offers a multidisciplinary approach and emphasizes life skills. Additionally, summer camp themes include Artemis Moon Mission Camp, BioBot and Roller Coaster Camp, and Rescue Bot Mystery Camp.
Taste Buds Kitchen Camp
2775 Middlefield Rd
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Taste Buds Kitchen Camp is a cooking camp for kids ages 4-17 with locations in Palo Alto and San Jose. Each session is three hours a day, and you can sign your child up by the day or by the week. The youngest campers will learn the basics of measuring, mixing and kitchen safety. Ages 9-12 will build on those basic skills with more advanced instruction regarding recipe reading and baking. The teen campers will learn even more advanced kitchen skills like recipe creation and knife skills.
Taste Buds Kitchen Camp is allergy friendly and provides a variety of menus to accommodate different campers’ allergy needs.
Broncos All Sports Camp
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
Broncos All Sports Camp is located at Santa Clara University and is an excellent choice for your sports-loving child. For ages 6-12 – and a Counselor in Training (CIT) program starting at age 13 – day campers will be exposed to a variety of different sports. Sports include basketball, badminton, volleyball, flag football, and more. This is a great opportunity for children to try all different sports that they may not have experienced yet.
One bonus that parents will love is that lunch is included! Pool time is also a part of each day’s activities. Extended day care is available as an add-on.
Camp Shalom
14855 Oka Rd
Los Gatos, CA 95032
This Bay Area summer camp is through the Jewish Community Center in Los Gatos and they make a point that ALL kids are welcome here. Great news for parents of little ones – this camp’s age range starts from just 18 months old and goes up to 16 years.
Camp Shalom offers a traditional day camp program for the classic summer camp experience as well as focused programs with specialities such as robotics and musical theater. All programs provide environments where children can flourish and be supported with Jewish values such as building strong character and respect for others.
Bay Area Summer Camps
Each of these Bay Area summer camps offers something unique for kids. Keep the kids entertained all summer long by encouraging their natural curiosity and love of adventure at these fantastic summer camps.
I am a Bay Area photographer who loves helping families create lasting memories and being ready with the camera to capture them! These memories last a lifetime. So check out more memories from my portfolio and other helpful motherhood tips in the links below! Then I am just an email away from your dream photo session!
This is a group for San Francisco Bay Area moms to connect, encourage and share resources through all stages of parenting. Motherhood is both joyful and challenging, and we need support through it all! We also have regular live Q&As with experts such as pediatric dentists, sleep specialists, and more!
Join my Free facebook mom's group!
