Summer Camp

We’ve all seen nature IN art - but have you ever tried making art WITH nature? We’ll spend the week getting creative with natural clay, plant pigments, homemade paper, stick sculptures - even sunlight! We’ll celebrate the beauty of nature while using our imaginations to make art from unusual materials. Betsy Arant (she/her), MSD Lead Early Childhood After School Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $315/$360/$405

Love games and meeting new friends? Come spend the week learning and playing games of yesteryear: duck, duck goose, hide and seek, Simon Says, musical chairs, telephone, just to name a few! Catherine Froelich (she/her), MSD Support Staff, will lead this camp. Cost: $315

Become a geologist for the week and learn about the wonders of the earth’s various rocks and gemstones. Through hands-on-experiences and multiple art mediums, we will learn about different types of rocks, how they are created, and their importance in our environment. Katie Starr (she/they), Lead Early Childhood After School Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $215

The Art Experience focuses on a different art process each day. Day 1-Creative Drawing, Day 2-Bookmaking, Day 3-Painting, 2D and 3D, Day 4-Printmaking. We will use traditional materials in new and exciting ways. Come and join the fun! Janine Wolf (she/her), MSD’s veteran art teacher, will lead this camp. Cost: $295

As the next frontier of asteroid mining and space travel unravels, discover the exciting adventure of space together with robots. Face off with all the mysteries of space, planets, and stars through hands-on engineering and create robot space rovers. Prepare your robot to explore a new or existing planet in the solar system. Find out what it takes to get from Earth to that planet as well as the measures taken on rovers for them to roam the plants. Face off with powerful air; experience its drag and pressure; learn about laws of motion and how they impact flying things. Create parachutes, design force rockets, understand air foils while exploring robotics. Let's get your rover exploration on! Shelby Jones (she/her), STEM for Kids instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $410

In this camp, we’ll discover the many fascinating ways that sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste can help us explore the world around us. We’ll have fun with optical illusions, scavenger hunts, guessing games, tactile art, and music making to celebrate our wonderful senses! Betsy Arant (she/her), MSD Lead Early Childhood After School Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $395/$450/$510

Ready to make a mess? Come along as we spend the week exploring and creating art using different materials and methods. You can plan on getting messy and having lots of fun! Catherine Froelich (she/her), MSD Support Staff, will lead this camp. Cost: $395

Take a deep dive underwater and learn about the mystical animals living under the sea. Using various art mediums, we will create art that immerses ourselves in this watery world! You can bet there will be plenty of water play to beat the summer heat. Katie Starr (she/they), MSD Lead Early Childhood After School Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $265

Join for a week of everyone’s favorite—POTTERY! We will create 2-3 finished pieces of pottery using the hand building methods of pinch, coil, and slab. We will learn the process that clay goes through from greenware to bisqueware and, finally, finished glassware. Clay is a very satisfying medium. We basically start with a lump of mud and transform it into decorative objects and functional dinnerware. This is a fun and rewarding process! Janine Wolf (she/her), MSD’s veteran art teacher, will lead this camp. Cost $335

The focus of the week will be to catalog as many plants, animals, and fungi as we can, reporting our findings to appropriate citizen science projects. Learn naturalist practices like identification techniques, safe capture-and-release, and how to use the tools of the trade: identification guides, binoculars, nets, hand lenses, and microscopes. Gain a sense of our human spaces as shared wildlife spaces. Our week together will be playful, active, and most of our time will be spent outdoors, exploring the school campus and natural areas. The camp will be led by Rachel Woods (she/her) of Dragonfly Nature Programs. Learn more: (dragonflynature.com/). Cost: $335

Close your eyes, and dream big. Come create your own magical world! We will make potions, make creatures, create dioramas, and draw maps of the imaginary worlds we are building. This camp welcomes full creativity to create both imaginative and visionary worlds. Katie Starr (she/they), MSD Lead Early Childhood After School Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $395/$450/$510

Join us for some picnic fun! In this camp, children will learn which items to bring when going on a picnic (basket, picnic table cloth, cooler, food, drinks), how to pack for and set up a picnic, and what foods one might bring to enjoy at the picnic, all in an effort to host their very own picnic on MSD’s shady playground. Francena Wallace, MSD Summer Camp Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $395

The foundation of this beginning theatre camp is about exploring basic theatre skills (imagination, movement, and public speaking) and building essential social emotional learning skills (teamwork, identifying/naming emotions, and problem-solving) through the play of creation. We'll play drama games, do a number of collaborative activities, and even create our own Lions, Tigers, and Bears characters to introduce to the grownups at the end of the week. Alex Richardson (they/she), MSD Support Staff, will lead this camp. Cost: $265

In this full-day camp, participants will engage in fun, interactive, developmentally appropriate, and accessible discussions and activities focused on self and family identities and pride, justice, intersectionality, and allyship. Activities will include creating a play or community outreach project and a Drag Storytime. Participants will be encouraged to share their voice, passions, and lived experiences with their communities. Rainbow Summer Camp is an inclusive and affirming space to BE WHO YOU ARE! All children are affirmed in Rainbow Summer Camp, including LGBTQ+ and gender diverse children of any race, country of origin, culture, and ability. Sid Sideris (they/he), MSD Lower Elementary Assistant Teacher, will lead this camp. Cost: $395

During Feathered Friends, there will be time for structured games and unstructured play. We will investigate feathers, eggs, nests, beaks, and feet. We will craft and best of all, we will bird! Birding is a hobby for anybody and for everybody! Participants will learn how to use binoculars, scopes, and field guides. They will learn to bird by sight and by ear. Our week together will be playful, active, and much of our time will be spent outdoors, exploring the school campus and natural areas. The camp will be led by Rachel Woods (she/her) of Dragonfly Nature Programs. Learn more: (dragonflynature.com/). Cost: $410

Discover the hidden world of birds, mammals, insects, and other fascinating creatures that make their homes in our gardens! From pests to pollinators, cuddly critters to creepy crawlies, we’ll explore the miniature biomes in our own backyards. Betsy Arant (she/her), MSD Lead Early Childhood After School Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $395/$450/$510

Tap into your imagination to see what a box can become! A car? A rocket? A robot? A house? Working with cardboard and other everyday materials, bring your ideas to life! Catherine Froelich (she/her), MSD Support Staff, will lead this camp. Cost: $395

Learn about music in a fun and exciting way! Together, we will learn interactive songs, play musical games, and explore rhythms using instruments that we create! Katie Starr (she/they), MSD Lead Early Childhood After School Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $265

Give your budding engineers hands-on designing and building experience. Working like mechanical engineers, we’ll experience motion and devise simple contraptions! Participants will work out engineering designs to build animal robots and program them to chirp, drum, and sing! Engineering, computer programming, and robotics come together seamlessly in this camp. Shelby Jones (she/her), STEM for Kids instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $335

In this full-day camp, participants will engage in fun, interactive, developmentally appropriate, and accessible discussions and activities focused on self and family identities and pride, justice, intersectionality, and allyship. Activities will include creating a play or community outreach project and a Drag Storytime. Participants will be encouraged to share their voice, passions, and lived experiences with their communities. Rainbow Summer Camp is an inclusive and affirming space to BE WHO YOU ARE! All children are affirmed in Rainbow Summer Camp, including LGBTQ+ and gender diverse children of any race, country of origin, culture, and ability. Sid Sideris (they/he), MSD Lower Elementary Assistant Teacher, will lead this camp. Cost: $395

Let’s explore the wonderful world of math in a new way - through art! We’ll use our creativity to learn about things like fractals, symmetry, time telling, shapes, skip counting, and more! Join us for a week of numbers and fun. Betsy Arant (she/her), MSD Lead Early Childhood After School Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $395/$450/$510

Join us for a week full of observing, hypothesizing, and experimenting! We’ll use the scientific method and simple household materials to have a load of fun each day. Catherine Froelich (she/her), MSD Support Staff, will lead this camp. Cost: $395

Plants! Animals! Oh my! During this week, we will learn about local plants and animals through exciting stories, art projects, and interactive games. As we learn about the world around us, your child will learn about new ways to care for the earth as well as their community. Katie Starr (she/they), MSD Lead Early Childhood After School Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $265

Campers will learn how to begin and end a variety of fiber arts projects using crochet, knitting, weaving, and hand sewing, ending with a project that incorporates several of the techniques they have learned. This adventure is led by summer camp instructors and MSD support staff, Pamela Alberda (she/her) and Katie Pittman (she/her), both of whom have lots of experience in fiber arts and enjoy sharing techniques and ideas with children. Cost: $265

Got what it takes to be a top-secret spy? Put your detective skills to work as we learn about codes, fingerprints, disguises, and more! We’ll use our powers of observation to learn more about the world around us (while completing our top-secret missions, of course). Betsy Arant (she/her), MSD Lead Early Childhood After School Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $395/$450/$510

During Feathered Friends, there will be time for structured games and unstructured play. We will investigate feathers, eggs, nests, beaks, and feet. We will craft and best of all, we will bird! Birding is a hobby for anybody and for everybody! Participants will be introduced to binoculars  and field guides. They will learn to bird by sight and by ear. Our week together will be playful and active, perfect for busy bodies and curious kiddos. The camp will be led by Charlotte Jones Saylor (she/her) of Dragonfly Nature Programs. Learn more: (dragonflynature.com/). Cost: $335

Starting with some artistic collage and portraiture activities, we'll get to know what makes us feel like us. Then, we'll get our bodies moving and learn some interpretive movement skills. To put it all together, we will be learning storytelling in a way that gives us life skills through stage skills! How do you show the audience who you are through other characters? Elim Lee (she/her), Upper Elementary Assistant Teacher, will lead this camp. Cost: $395

The foundation of the "Out of This World" theatre camp is about exploring basic theatre skills (imagination, movement, public speaking, etc.) and building essential social emotional learning skills (teamwork, identifying/naming emotions, problem-solving, etc.) through the play of creation. We'll play drama games, do a number of collaborative activities, and even create our own outer space characters to introduce to the grownups at the end of the week. Alex Richardson (they/she), MSD Support Staff, will lead this camp. Cost: $395

Travel around the world using your tastebuds! We’ll learn about cuisines from across the globe and try our hand at cooking some delicious favorites. We’ll even taste some yummy samples from local restaurants and groceries! Betsy Arant (she/her), MSD Lead Early Childhood After School Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $395/$450/$510

Love animals? Get an introduction to the unique and diverse creatures that call Australia home! Through various activities and crafts, we will learn about several different groups of animals, including marsupials, birds, and reptiles. Who knew that developing an understanding of Australian wildlife could be so fun? Charlotte Jones Saylor (she/her), MSD Support Staff, will lead this camp. Cost $395

The tallest building in the world stands 2,700 feet tall - that's over half a mile! How do civil engineers think and plan for such structures? Join us as we learn the science of building structures and take baby steps towards working like a civil engineer to design structures using simple materials. May the forces be with them on this awesome mission of close encounters with the “all fall down” gravity, thrilling balancing acts, bridging designs and the quest to make the tallest skyscraper! Will their designs survive the mighty weight, wind, and earthquake? Shelby Jones (she/her), STEM for Kids Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $335

Ignite your creativity and take the stage! In this electrifying week-long camp, young artists will harness the power of their actor's tools—voice, body, and imagination—to create original theatre. From thrilling improvisations to dynamic scene work, every day is packed with fun, discovery, and collaboration. The week culminates in a final performance where the ensemble’s unique creation comes to life. Perfect for aspiring actors and bold performers ready to shine! Katie Jo Faulks (she/her), Teaching Artist at Vault Theatre, will lead this camp. Cost: $410

A summer camp spin on a MSD Enrichment, Stone Soup campers will explore the concept of citizenship and how a person's a person, no matter how small! Each of us can start the chain of change that makes our world a better place. We have a world of possibilities when we are thinking through how to take care of our community. We will do some service-based activities and create our own projects based off of the positivity we want to spread in our neighborhood! Elim Lee (she/her), MSD’s Upper Elementary Assistant Teacher, will lead this camp. Cost: $395

Why do we blink? How does our hair grow? What's that dangly thing at the back of our mouths for? We’ll dive into all these questions and more as we learn about our awesome bodies and how to take care of them. Heads, shoulders, knees, and toes - and so much more! Betsy Arant (she/her), MSD Lead Early Childhood After School Instructor, will lead this camp. Cost: $395/$450/$510

Join us for a week exploring children’s books followed by a child friendly recipe. Each day we will read a different book and make a new recipe to try together. We will be chopping, squeezing, mixing, tasting, and more! Catherine Froelich (she/her), MSD Support Staff, will lead this camp. Cost: $395

In “Sew With Me!” camp we will learn or enhance both machine and hand sewing techniques while using creativity and imagination. We will sew our own tote bags as we learn and develop the skills of machine sewing. We will design decorative, hand-sewn elements to make it our own! Campers will also choose a project using repurposed clothing items and give old garments new life as they practice the skills they have acquired. Pamela Alberda (she/her), MSD Support Staff, is passionate about sewing and sharing the enjoyment she’s found in her many creative pursuits using fabrics both new and found! Cost: $395