Camps

The only complaint we ever hear about Southwest's fantabulous Super Summer programming - offered by the Community Education department of the Minneapolis Public Schools - is that it's not offered all summer!

The informal, inexpensive half-day mini-camps are offered Monday through Thursday at Southwest High School for six weeks each summer - mid-June through July - and include sports, arts, academics, computers, cooking, and much more. Each camp has a specified age range, with a plethora of offerings for kids entering kindergarten through eighth grade. Combine a morning (9:30am-12n) and afternoon session (1pm-3:30pm), send your camper in with a bag lunch, and you're set for the whole day; there's no additional charge for the supervised lunch/play hour between sessions!

The program's horseback riding camps may be the best deal in town: $66-$68 includes two days of learning about horses, and two days visiting a ranch - one to practice grooming and saddling, and one to ride. There are also reasonably priced mini-camps for other higher-end activities such as photography and Red Cross babysitter training classes. Full-day Trek programs for ages 12 to 14 include canoeing, rock-climbing, and biking, as well as an environmental education component.

Expect to pay about $40 per camp per week and register early to avoid disappointment - the camps are open to all kids (not just Minneapolis residents), and are filled on a first-come, first-served basis starting in April. Most camps are limited to 10 children.

Register by mail or in-person; contact the program office to receive a brochure, or find out more about registration and cancellation policies. Extended-day care is not available "officially," but ask in the office for referrals to high school and college students who might be available.

Summer Opportunities: Most of the camp leaders and helpers are Southwest High School students - many of whom probably participated in the program when they were younger! Teens looking for summer jobs should contact program director Tom Neiman.

The only complaint we ever hear about Southwest's fantabulous Super Summer programming - offered by the Community Education department of the Minneapolis Public Schools - is that it's not offered all summer!

The informal, inexpensive half-day mini-camps are offered Monday through Thursday at Southwest High School for six weeks each summer - mid-June through July - and include sports, arts, academics, computers, cooking, and much more. Each camp has a specified age range, with a plethora of offerings for kids entering kindergarten through eighth grade. Combine a morning (9:30am-12n) and afternoon session (1pm-3:30pm), send your camper in with a bag lunch, and you're set for the whole day; there's no additional charge for the supervised lunch/play hour between sessions!

The program's horseback riding camps may be the best deal in town: $66-$68 includes two days of learning about horses, and two days visiting a ranch - one to practice grooming and saddling, and one to ride. There are also reasonably priced mini-camps for other higher-end activities such as photography and Red Cross babysitter training classes. Full-day Trek programs for ages 12 to 14 include canoeing, rock-climbing, and biking, as well as an environmental education component.

Expect to pay about $40 per camp per week and register early to avoid disappointment - the camps are open to all kids (not just Minneapolis residents), and are filled on a first-come, first-served basis starting in April. Most camps are limited to 10 children.

Register by mail or in-person; contact the program office to receive a brochure, or find out more about registration and cancellation policies. Extended-day care is not available "officially," but ask in the office for referrals to high school and college students who might be available.

Summer Opportunities: Most of the camp leaders and helpers are Southwest High School students - many of whom probably participated in the program when they were younger! Teens looking for summer jobs should contact program director Tom Neiman.

Give a dull day a jolt with a visit to the electrifying Bakken Museum & Library, located in an intriguing Tudor mansion just like the ones in spooky old Vincent Price films. Home to thousands of rare books and scientific instruments relating to the role of electricity and magnetism in life and medicine, The Bakken was founded by Earl E. Bakken, inventor of the first transistorized cardiac pacemaker.

The Bakken is an independent, nonprofit educational institution and hosts many hands-on learning events and exhibitions throughout the year, including weekly Family Science Saturdays and multi-session Saturday classes for budding inventors.

Its small museum store carries a bright and shiny array of unique toys and games. Mini-scientists are sure gravitate toward the wide selection of home experiment kits.

Parties: Available during Family Science Saturdays for $100, which includes use of kitchen space and a 2.5-hour room rental (10am-1pm or 2pm-5pm). Call 612.926.3878, ext. 200, well in advance to book.

Summer Camps: Offered weekly from late-June through August for ages seven through 14, with the largest selection of programming for kids entering grades four to six. Co-ed and girls-only options are sometimes offered as well. Expect to pay about $150/week (half-day) to $275/week (full-day); scholarships are available for those who qualify.

Each engaging, educational Abrakadoodle art workshop, camp, or party highlights a different artist - from Old Masters to Pop icons - and introduces children to different materials and art-making techniques.

Lessons never repeat, and each child leaves each one with a new piece of framed art. Classes are held at locations throughout the metro area, and for different age groups. Get contact information for your closest franchisee from the corporate website.

Birthday parties: Abrakadoodle books parties at its Maple Grove studio and kiddywampus in Edina, for children ages three through 12...and can also bring the party to the site of your choice. Select an art activity; materials and a teacher are provided. Face painting and party favors are available for an additional fee.

Summer camps: Full-day and half-day art camps are offered throughout the metro area for ages three through 12, in partnership with Crayola. Children are grouped by age and introduced to a wide variety of materials and techniques, including digital photography, mosaics, collage, and paint.

Each engaging, educational Abrakadoodle art workshop, camp, or party highlights a different artist - from Old Masters to Pop icons - and introduces children to different materials and art-making techniques.

Lessons never repeat, and each child leaves each one with a new piece of framed art. Classes are held at locations throughout the metro area, and for different age groups. Get contact information for your closest franchisee from the corporate website.

Birthday parties: Abrakadoodle books parties at its Maple Grove studio and kiddywampus in Edina, for children ages three through 12...and can also bring the party to the site of your choice. Select an art activity; materials and a teacher are provided. Face painting and party favors are available for an additional fee.

Summer camps: Full-day and half-day art camps are offered throughout the metro area for ages three through 12, in partnership with Crayola. Children are grouped by age and introduced to a wide variety of materials and techniques, including digital photography, mosaics, collage, and paint.

Each engaging, educational Abrakadoodle art workshop, camp, or party highlights a different artist - from Old Masters to Pop icons - and introduces children to different materials and art-making techniques.

Lessons never repeat, and each child leaves each one with a new piece of framed art. Classes are held at locations throughout the metro area, and for different age groups. Get contact information for your closest franchisee from the corporate website.

Birthday parties: Abrakadoodle books parties at its Maple Grove studio and kiddywampus in Edina, for children ages three through 12...and can also bring the party to the site of your choice. Select an art activity; materials and a teacher are provided. Face painting and party favors are available for an additional fee.

Summer camps: Full-day and half-day art camps are offered throughout the metro area for ages three through 12, in partnership with Crayola. Children are grouped by age and introduced to a wide variety of materials and techniques, including digital photography, mosaics, collage, and paint.

Whether you're on the lookout for a day camp or something in a sleep-away, the Northland regional division of the ACA's website is worth checking out. Families can search those listings by location, activities, and more to find the right fit and get tips and advice for planning a successful experience.

ACA accredits all types of camps across the United States, verifying compliance with up to 300 individual health, safety, and program quality standards.

KidsCamps.com is a free online database of every type of camp imaginable, with listings in all fifty states - including a few dozen in Minnesota - and around the world, all searchable by camp type and location.

It's a particularly good resource for rooting out specialized opportunities, such as camps geared toward families, weight-loss, religion, teen adventure, special needs, and less common sports or arts activities. (And, parents, there are even listings for camps for you!)

Parents can also use the site to shop for camp supplies, and older teens can use it to search for summer employment.

CampDepot.com is a search engine for summer camps, offering more than 14,000 camp listings that parents can search by zip code, specialty, location, activity, etc.

Adults and kids - even babies! - can explore and make art in innovative programs for all levels of experience. Create with drawing and painting materials, metal, fabric, clay, and more. ArtiCulture's new site also features retail space, with a store selling art supplies and the work of local artists.

Classes: ArtiCulture offers a wide array of classes for all ages, including the unique parent/child Art Sprouts program for tots as young as 12 months, themed family workshops throughout the year, and special school release day offerings that even cover that hard-to-fill remainder of the week after the last day of school in June!

Summer Camps: Themed half-day and full-day offerings for kids ages four and up, some of which incorporate drama, movement, or foreign culture and history. Camps priced about $100/half-day; $225/full-day.
Extended-day care is available for an additional fee.

Parties: Customized offerings for birthdays, scout and youth group meetings, and other events. Call for more information.

Membership: $40/Household. Benefits include a 15% discount on class and camp fees.

Donations: As a non-profit, ArtiCulture welcomes donations of time, skills, money, and materials. Check out the wish list to see if you can help.

It's thoroughly enjoyable to make a day out of a visit to Como Zoo in the summer. With the McNeely Conservatory, historic Cafesjian's Carousel, and the new Como Town seasonal amusement park located right in the same area of lovely Como Park, it's a no-brainer. But a winter visit is special too - even though many of the animals remain indoors - especially if combined with one of the zoo's many parent/child classes.

The zoo is compact, though a leisurely circuit can still take several hours. Primates, large cats, birds, and African hoofed animals can be viewed inside buildings and out - but the polar bears are away while their new environment is under construction! The new Leonard Wilkening Children's Gallery (open April 19, 2008) helps kids learn about nature and the circle of life through five stations of interactive exhibits, hands-on activities, and imaginative play.

Como is more than 100 years old, founded in 1897 with just three deer in a fenced pasture! Its age shows in some of the exhibits, which harken back to the days when cement cells were the norm, but it's a mistake to dismiss Como as the poorer sister of the Minnesota Zoo (which was built after a committee deemed Como couldn't be expanded). Free admission is just one of the simple pleasures it has to offer.

Sparky the Sea Lion - or rather, her latest incarnation - has been performing in the amphitheater for 50 years now, with two shows daily (Tue-Sun) in the summer. She's still popular - be sure to nab a spot on the benches early for weekend shows! - but the zoo's Halloween ZooBoo fundraiser each October is an even bigger draw.

In winter months, the coffee, salads, and sandwiches at Zobota Cafe are the only options for on-site food. Concession stands serving popcorn, ice cream, pizza, and other treats open for the summer ... but be warned that bees seem to be some of the best customers at the main stand, especially late in the season!

Rent single or double strollers ($4/day; $6.50/day) year-round at the refurbished Visitor Center. That's also where you'll find the gift shop and restrooms; additional restrooms open at Seal Island in the summer months.

Birthday parties: Basic package includes 90 minutes in a private classroom, with 45 minutes of interactive programming tied to a chosen theme; $150/15 guests, including adults. Add pizza, drinks, and cake for $50 more. Themes include primates, cats, reptiles, and plants. Gift bags are available for $5/child. Due to safety concerns, no balloons, pinatas, or pets are allowed! For do-it-yourself parties, obtain a city rental permit (651.632.5111) for the picnic space near Seal Island.

Classes: Extensive offerings include parent/child programs for ages three to five, family classes for ages four and up, camps during school release days, and special homeschooler programming for ages five to fifteen. Classes typically feature visits from live animals and/or tours. Art and gardening classes for adults, and teacher workshops are also offered.

Summer camps: Como offers themed weeklong programs for ages four and up. Full-day and half-day options are available; before or after care offered for an additional fee.

Membership: $75/family, includes gift shop and class discounts, invitations to member-only events, reciprocity privileges at over 120 zoos nationwide, a quarterly newsletter, and four ZooBoo tickets.

Volunteering: Como offers a special summer volunteer program for teens ages 13 to 17. Beyond that, volunteers must be 16 years old, unless accompanied by an adult.

Every parent should know about Club Kid ... just in case. It provides hourly childcare - backup, last-minute, during the summer, and on school release days - whenever it's needed, 12 or more hours a day (with reduced hours on Sundays) for kids ages 16 months to 10 years. There's no reservation required, just show up and drop off. It gives parents a chance to shop, handle urgencies, or just be a little spontaneous.

Kids play in a supervised, stimulating environment. They can enjoy free video games or watch movies on their own, or join new friends in craft projects, aerobics, storytime, or one of the other scheduled activities on the packed calendar.

The College of St. Catherine offers high school girls (currently enrolled in 9th-11th grade) the chance to explore business and technology career skills while "building" an online shopping mall during St. Kate's Business & Technology Careers Camp, a week-long residential summer camp. College professors and students provide instruction and mentoring, and scheduled activities give kids a taste of campus life. Financial aid is available.

The campus also hosts performances and events open to the public throughout the year.

Children can learn discipline and focus through martial arts, self-defense, and cardio kickboxing classes at World Taekwondo Academy coaching centers.

Mixed-age classes encourage the whole family to study together; summer camps and competitions offer additional opportunities for practice. WTA students participate in Olympic-style tournament sparring to progress from white to black belts, and get a free uniform when they enroll.

The Southdale YMCA offers free on-site childcare (for kids from six weeks to 10 years old) while parents work out, with both indoor and outdoor play areas. And like most Ys, it also provides a wide variety of programming for kids and teens, including lots of youth sports leagues and enrichment classes, before and after school care, and teen councils and leadership clubs. Enrollment is open to all for most programs, though fees will be higher for non-members.

Group and private swim lessons are offered in the six-lane Olympic-size pool, with a smaller - and quieter - warming pool available for parents to use with babies and toddlers. Men's and women's family locker rooms provide a spacious place to change and shower. Kids can also get a workout on large muscle equipment in a Kids Gym and give the facility's climbing wall a shot.

The Tri-City SkatePark behind the building is open each afternoon from mid-April throught August, weather-permitting. The innovative in-ground concrete bowl provides a safe environment for skateboarders, inline skaters, and freestyle bikers to tool around, with depths ranging from four to 12 feet, street course elements, and challenges for a variety of skill levels. Waivers and safey gear are required for all users. Call 952.897.5462 for information on lessons. Daily use rates: Members $5; Non-members $9. Punch cards and season passes are also available.

Summer camp: Full-day programming is offered on-site all summer for school age kids, but for a real day camp experience the Southdale YMCA uses Kici Yapi, a fairly primitive 80-acre wooded site with a lake located near Prior Lake. Weeklong programs for ages four to 13 include traditional lanyard-and-archery-type camps, as well as specialized offerings for horseback riding, climbing, camping, and crafts. Seventh and eighth graders can take a leaders-in-training camp and assist counselors with younger kids. Bus transportation for campers is provided to/from sites in Minneapolis and several southern suburbs; kids enrolled in extended care in addition to camp get dropped off and/or picked up at the Southdale Y.

Lost Creek Ranch's Camp Confidence offers weeklong overnight and day camp programs for horse crazy kids. Each child gets his or her "own" horse for the week, for safety and horse care classes, riding and arena lessons, and games. Groups are kept small, with a student/staff ratio of 3 to 1, and no more than 10 kids per session.

Traditional camp activities are also offered. Each session ends with a horse show and parade for family and friends.

Each engaging, educational Abrakadoodle art workshop, camp, or party highlights a different artist - from Old Masters to Pop icons - and introduces children to different materials and art-making techniques.

Lessons never repeat, and each child leaves each one with a new piece of framed art. Classes are held at locations throughout the metro area, and for different age groups. Get contact information for your closest franchisee from the corporate website.

Birthday parties: Abrakadoodle books parties at its Maple Grove studio and kiddywampus in Edina, for children ages three through 12...and can also bring the party to the site of your choice. Select an art activity; materials and a teacher are provided. Face painting and party favors are available for an additional fee.

Summer camps: Full-day and half-day art camps are offered throughout the metro area for ages three through 12, in partnership with Crayola. Children are grouped by age and introduced to a wide variety of materials and techniques, including digital photography, mosaics, collage, and paint.

Each engaging, educational Abrakadoodle art workshop, camp, or party highlights a different artist - from Old Masters to Pop icons - and introduces children to different materials and art-making techniques.

Lessons never repeat, and each child leaves each one with a new piece of framed art. Classes are held at locations throughout the metro area, and for different age groups. Get contact information for your closest franchisee from the corporate website.

Birthday parties: Abrakadoodle books parties at its Maple Grove studio and kiddywampus in Edina, for children ages three through 12...and can also bring the party to the site of your choice. Select an art activity; materials and a teacher are provided. Face painting and party favors are available for an additional fee.

Summer camps: Full-day and half-day art camps are offered throughout the metro area for ages three through 12, in partnership with Crayola. Children are grouped by age and introduced to a wide variety of materials and techniques, including digital photography, mosaics, collage, and paint.

It's thoroughly enjoyable to make a day out of a visit to Como Zoo in the summer. With the McNeely Conservatory, historic Cafesjian's Carousel, and the new Como Town seasonal amusement park located right in the same area of lovely Como Park, it's a no-brainer. But a winter visit is special too - even though many of the animals remain indoors - especially if combined with one of the zoo's many parent/child classes.

The zoo is compact, though a leisurely circuit can still take several hours. Primates, large cats, birds, and African hoofed animals can be viewed inside buildings and out - but the polar bears are away while their new environment is under construction! The new Leonard Wilkening Children's Gallery (open April 19, 2008) helps kids learn about nature and the circle of life through five stations of interactive exhibits, hands-on activities, and imaginative play.

Como is more than 100 years old, founded in 1897 with just three deer in a fenced pasture! Its age shows in some of the exhibits, which harken back to the days when cement cells were the norm, but it's a mistake to dismiss Como as the poorer sister of the Minnesota Zoo (which was built after a committee deemed Como couldn't be expanded). Free admission is just one of the simple pleasures it has to offer.

Sparky the Sea Lion - or rather, her latest incarnation - has been performing in the amphitheater for 50 years now, with two shows daily (Tue-Sun) in the summer. She's still popular - be sure to nab a spot on the benches early for weekend shows! - but the zoo's Halloween ZooBoo fundraiser each October is an even bigger draw.

In winter months, the coffee, salads, and sandwiches at Zobota Cafe are the only options for on-site food. Concession stands serving popcorn, ice cream, pizza, and other treats open for the summer ... but be warned that bees seem to be some of the best customers at the main stand, especially late in the season!

Rent single or double strollers ($4/day; $6.50/day) year-round at the refurbished Visitor Center. That's also where you'll find the gift shop and restrooms; additional restrooms open at Seal Island in the summer months.

Birthday parties: Basic package includes 90 minutes in a private classroom, with 45 minutes of interactive programming tied to a chosen theme; $150/15 guests, including adults. Add pizza, drinks, and cake for $50 more. Themes include primates, cats, reptiles, and plants. Gift bags are available for $5/child. Due to safety concerns, no balloons, pinatas, or pets are allowed! For do-it-yourself parties, obtain a city rental permit (651.632.5111) for the picnic space near Seal Island.

Classes: Extensive offerings include parent/child programs for ages three to five, family classes for ages four and up, camps during school release days, and special homeschooler programming for ages five to fifteen. Classes typically feature visits from live animals and/or tours. Art and gardening classes for adults, and teacher workshops are also offered.

Summer camps: Como offers themed weeklong programs for ages four and up. Full-day and half-day options are available; before or after care offered for an additional fee.

Membership: $75/family, includes gift shop and class discounts, invitations to member-only events, reciprocity privileges at over 120 zoos nationwide, a quarterly newsletter, and four ZooBoo tickets.

Volunteering: Como offers a special summer volunteer program for teens ages 13 to 17. Beyond that, volunteers must be 16 years old, unless accompanied by an adult.