Day Camps
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Summer Camps 2013
Registration is now open for 2013 Summer Camps! Choose your camps (scroll down for full descriptions), download the registration form below, and mail with your payment to:
Madison Children’s Museum
100 N. Hamilton Street.
Madison, WI 53703
For camp registration questions, contact the Registration Coordinator at registration@madisonchildrensmuseum.org or 608.256.6445 x 156.
Morning camp sessions include a lunch break; afternoon sessions include a snack break. Campers may bring a lunch/snack from home; we will also provide the option to order lunches and snacks from our Roman Candle Sparkler Cafe. We are working on improving the ordering process and will send information to all registered camper parents closer to the start of the camp season.
Limited scholarships are available through our Access for Everyone Membership program. Download a 2013 scholarship application form .
Junior/Senior Camps
For children entering grades 2–6 in the fall
June 24–28 • Young Explorers (9 a.m.–1 p.m.)
Learn about animals, habitats, trees, life cycles, composting, and biomimicry through hands-on exploration. In this camp we will take field trips to the Dane County Farmers Market, Wisconsin Historical Museum and local natural areas.
June 24–28 • Pioneer Living (1-5 p.m.) SOLD OUT
Have you ever wanted to try your hand at pioneer living? See if you have what it would take to start life over in a whole new place. Learn what it was like to do household chores in an authentic log cabin, work with traditional tools, communicate and trade with Native American neighbors, attend school in a one-room schoolhouse, and more! This camp is sold out.
July 8-12 • Story Jam (1–5 p.m.)
Do you love dreaming up wild adventures and harrowing tales? Have you ever wanted to animate, perform, or otherwise dramatize your stories? Well now is your chance! In this camp you will create a story and then try different methods from a paper animation station to a puppet theater to a live performance to make your tale come alive.
July 1–5 • Mission Impossible-opolis (9 a.m.–1 p.m.) SOLD OUT
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to use found materials and recycled goods to create and engineer your very own city, complete with towers, bridges, and any other amazing constructions you dream up. Please note that camp does not meet on July 4. This camp is sold out.
July 1–5 • Nature Photography (1–5 p.m.) SOLD OUT
Learn the basics of nature photography and sketching in nature. This fun-filled week will include photography field trip expeditions and gallery tours. Children will work with museum staff and guest photographers to create sun prints, hand-tinted photos, and film and digital photographs, as well as a public exhibition for the museum’s Art Gallery. Please note that camp does not meet on July 4. This camp is sold out.
July 8-12 • Young Chefs (9 a.m.–1 p.m.) SOLD OUT
Explore all aspects of cooking delicious meals. From harvesting your own herbs to collecting fresh chicken eggs, combining delicious flavors from the earth and cooking using the power of the sun. Parents will be invited to share a scrumptious meal prepared by their children on the last day of camp. This camp is sold out.
Senior Camps
For children entering grades 4–6 in the fall
July 15–19 • Recycled Sounds (1–5 p.m.)
Join two local musicians as you make your very own instruments out of recycled and repurposed materials. From rubber band guitars, to horns, and drums, choose your instrument and build it from scratch.
July 22–26 • Possible-opolis Printworks (1–5 p.m.)
Join two local artists and printmakers to learn about printmaking in its various forms. Make a series of prints, or your very own book or journal, whatever you choose you can be sure to make it look fantastic using letterpress or lino block printing.
July 29–Aug. 2 Day and Night at the Museum
(1–5 p.m. M–Th plus Thursday overnight)
Who hasn’t dreamed of spending the night at a museum after the doors have been locked? You don’t have to dream anymore. Spend the week learning the ins and outs of behind-the-scenes operations at Madison Children’s Museum. Spend time in our exhibits workshop and get to know the talented staff members who make the fun happen. Then spend a magical night at the museum on Thursday and see what really happens when the visitors go home. Please note that this camp does not meet on Friday afternoon. Campers will stay overnight at the museum from 1 p.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. Friday. Thursday dinner and Friday breakfast will be provided.
July 29–Aug. 2 • Project FUNway (9 a.m.–1 p.m.) SOLD OUT
Have you ever wondered how clothes are designed? In this camp we will look at fashion trends, take a field trip to rummage through recycled materials, and purchase fabrics. You will learn what you need to know to turn creative fashion ideas into one of-a-kind-creations. After choosing fabrics, making design drawings, and learning stitches and sewing techniques, you can bring your visions to life. There will be a fashion show on the last day of camp where campers will model their fashion designs. This camp is sold out.
July 15–19 • LEGO Lab (9 a.m.–1 p.m.) SOLD OUT
Step into our LEGO Lab to create your own sculptures and experiment with different motors, sensors, and various doodads to design and build your own robotic contraption. LEGO Lab is supported by the Berbee Technology Education Foundation. This camp is sold out.
Fees: Regular session: $130/child
July 1–5 sessions: $105/child (four-day camp week)
Day and Night at the Museum session: $150/child
MCM member discount: Ten percent discount on all camp fees
Additional materials: detailed itineraries, permission form, and lunch/snack ordering form (optional) will be emailed to all registrants in early June.
