2025 Chicago Summer Camps (Interactive Guide)
This crowdsourced Chicago summer camps list is the ultimate guide for parents who want real-life camp recommendations from fellow moms and dads.
Parents can post personal reviews for every camp included below, or add a new recommendation to help the list keep growing. Please share your experience with any summer camps around Chicago that your kids have attended! Your honest reviews will help other families for years to come.
Explore more favorites on our lists of nature, sports, art, gymnastics, academic, STEM, theater, special needs and overnight camps.
Camp Invention
Camp Invention is one week in the summer where your child’s creativity, innovation, and problem-solving skills are challenged and developed in fun and exciting ways. Their top priority is to inspire future innovators and build kids' confidence in their natural ability to dream and create. They offer STEM camps all over Chicago and the suburbs.
Museum of Science and Industry Summer Camps
The Museum of Science and Industry has exciting opportunities to engage your youth in science, making, and the wonder of this exciting museum! All supplies provided and scholarships are available for students in need of financial assistance.
Apachi Day Camps
Gina I.: Hosted by JCC Chicago at several locations throughout the Chicagoland area, Apache camps give campers the opportunity to discover new experiences, make new friends, and embrace everything that makes them unique. Campers can explore a variety of activities, including: sports, arts & crafts, dance, cooking, music, storytelling, Judaic learning, and much more. Programs, ages and pricing vary by location.
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools Summer Lab
The Summer Lab programs at the University of Chicago offer so many different opportunities for children to learn, connect, and discover—from sports and theater to urban adventure and academics. The programs are fun and like everything at Lab, they are designed to inspire curiosity, creativity, and confidence in each child.
Hyde Park Art Center Creativity Camp
Creativity Camp provides kids the chance to explore the exciting world of art and creativity through a wide range of multi-media activities. Campers work with professional artists to produce unique and original works of art, and develop their imagination and creativity. The combination of visual art and theater art, together with outdoor play, gives campers a unique experience that is tons of fun!
C.I.T.Y. Club Gymnastics Academy Summer Camps
At this elite athletic training facility, they offer a summer camp designed to sharpen the mind and strengthen the body! Campers will learn gymnastics basics, partake in gymnastics-style games, and enjoy arts and crafts.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago Summer Camps
In SAIC's Family Art Camp (with parent), Multi-Arts Camp and Middle School Camp, kids learn to discover, explore, and imagine in their own unique ways, experimenting with a variety of art materials and methods that encourage the development of creative thinking and problem solving skills. Children will be inspired by its fantastic downtown location & regular opportunities to explore the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Ballet Chicago Super Hero Camp
Molly Weber: Ballet Chicago is a professional track school of ballet with a dedication to teaching correct technique and fundamentals. Not only is the theme for their youth camp amazing, the children will also be dancing to live music! There will also be crafts, story time, dress up time, and a performance on the final day. Let your child embrace their inner superhero while developing a love for dance and music. Wear your favorite super hero outfit!
Goodman Theatre PlayBuild Youth Intensive
Learn from professional actors at the Goodman Theatre's Musical Theater Intensive (MTI) in this intense, audition-based program for serious teens. MTI acquaints students to the demanding lifestyle of performers as they refine their skills in acting, dancing, singing, storytelling, and ensemble work. The program culminates in a final performance of student work.
The Second City Comedy Camp
Let your kids flex their funny bones this summer at Second City! Campers exercise their sense of play through improv games and exercises that are the foundation of The Second City’s unique brand of comedy. Kids will perform for friends and family at the end of each session. Students ages 15-18 who have attended two or more camps can join the Advanced Comedy Camp.
Lincoln Park Zoo - Zoo Camps
The Summer Conservation Camp (PreK - 5) gives campers the chance to explore the zoo and learn about animals and how to care for them. Zoo Crew sessions (grade 6-8) include field trips, conversations with zoo experts, and opportunities to stay late at the zoo each session.
Brooklyn Boulders Summer Adventures Week
Learning to climb teaches kids hands-on problem solving skills, helps them improve spatial & fine motor skills, and builds confidence. Best of all, at it's fun! Summer Adventures will keep your kid(s) engaged all week long with a roster of climbing challenges, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) activities, team building and more.
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum Summer Camp
Explore the wonders of nature at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum! Their summer camp focuses on nature and science education utilizing the Nature Museum’s outdoor and indoor spaces. Campers will spend their days digging, building, nurturing their curiosity and learning about local urban habitats.
Chicago Children's Theatre Camp Red Kite
Camp Red Kite is a summer theatre camp tailored specifically to the unique interests and needs of children on the autism spectrum. The program is led by a team of artists, and special education teachers dedicated to creating a safe, welcoming, and comfortable environment. Their aim is to encourage self expression, social engagement, creative exploration, and above all, fun! Camp culminates in a final showcase and potluck lunch to share the Camp Red Kite experience with family and friends.
Chicago Gaelic Park - Irish Cultural Camp
Erin P.: Chicago Gaelic Park offers a camp for kids to learn about Irish history and culture. Campers select four areas of interest, including Irish dance, drama, language, music, art and sport. Each camp day begins with a fresh fruit snack and a large group activity before the kids break off into their two morning workshops. After lunch, kids will enjoy two more workshops before heading outside for hurling, football, and ice cream sundaes. All workshops are taught by experts in these areas of Irish history and tradition.
Primary photo: Annie Spratt on Unsplash
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