It's time to get out and enjoy the summer! With so many camps throughout the DFW area, families can choose from many activities that best fit their child's interests. There are camps specializing in STEM, sports camps, outdoors camps, musical theater camps and so many more.
Dallas is also home to traditional day and overnight camps, where children can experience all the fun and free-spirited adventure that parents remember from their own summer camp days.
Need more info before sending your kid off? Check out ourParent's Guide to Summer Camp.
Trinity Valley School
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Age: 3 to 18 years old
Length: Day camp, with half day, full day and extended care available
Cost: Starting at $35 (payment plans available)
Through their XPlore program, TVS offers camps for every age and interest. Topics include STEM, literature, the outdoors, musical theater and animals. Is your child interested in a specific sport? XPlore offers climbing, tennis, field hockey, cheerleading and even CrossFit, among others. Camps are held on the Trinity Valley School campus in Fort Worth.
Half day camps are available for younger kids, but if you're looking for a full day option, parents can register for both morning and afternoon camps. For first through fourth grade campers, choose from 50-plus camps as wide-ranging as hip-hop yoga and digital production. Can't choose just one? Camp Astra offers a full day with a variety of activities for a well-rounded week.
For middle schoolers, focus areas include writing, virtual reality and YouTube, alongside traditional camps. High schoolers can work on speed and agility in a sport of their choice, or perform in a Shakespeare production. Seniors can even get a head start on their college essay, with a weeklong program that offers peer review and professional guidance. With so many choices, there's bound to be a camp to suit your child.
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Club SciKidz Dallas
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Age: Pre-K to 7th grade
Length: Day camp, with extended care available
Cost: Starting at $235 (scholarships available)
Club SciKidz offers 25 different camps in multiple locations. Camps fall into several categories: Extreme Science, Film Making & Effects, Robotics and Engineering, Video Game Design and Programming and Apps. Each camp consists of experiments and hands-on projects to keep your child engaged. Kids can learn to use SCRATCH, solder a robot or study emergency medicine, among other camp offerings. All camp directors are certified teachers, and program assistants are current college students with additional training from the camp.
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Kidventure Camp
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Age: Pre-school to 9th grade; 8 to 18 years old
Length: Day camp (pre-school to 9th grade); Overnight camp (8 to 18 years old)
Cost: Starting at $225
Kidventure is a classic, traditional summer camp—but better. This camp, with all the outdoor adventures, water sports and art and crafts you can imagine, also works to teach campers teamwork and introduce them to new experiences. Kidventure uses four cornerstones—creativity, physical activity, exploration and reflection—to encourage kids to try new things and gain self-confidence.
Discoverers, the youngest campers, stay on the grounds, trying arts and crafts, yoga, games, music and movement. Explorers (grades 1 through 6), take weekly field trips, participate in science activities, spend time swimming and incorporate creative writing into their reflection time.
For kids 8 to 18 years old, Kidventure offers an overnight summer camp that has been named "Texas' Best Overnight Camp." Campers discover adventure, teamwork and fun while rock climbing, rappelling, racing down zip-lines and riding the giant Mo-Slide! At Apex Camp, 17 to 18 year olds spend five days kayaking 40 miles in the Pecos River Canyon in an expedition type camp, facilitating personal growth beyond the camp walls.
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Kid Art
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Age: Pre-K to 6th grade
Length: Half-day camp
Cost: Starting at $260
Each week, campers will dive into a different country or time period, learning about the fascinating art, music, costume, food and architecture of a specific culture. Instructors use these art-based projects to make each topic truly come alive. Topic areas include: Impressionist France, Japan, Russia, Medieval Times and Hawaii. Camps are also broken into specific age groups, so that projects best match the interest, ability and motor skills of your child.
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Dallas Mavericks
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Age: 8 to 18 years old
Length: Day Camp; Overnight Camp
Cost: Starting at $75
Take your basketball skills to the next level with the Dallas Mavericks' Hoop Camp! The day option provides instruction in basketball fundamentals, agility drills, full court skill development and shooting games. Coaches also include lessons in communication, responsibility and sportsmanship, so your little athlete gains skills off the court, too.
At overnight Hoop Camp, in addition to games and drills, campers will have access to daily lectures from coaches and professionals and skills competitions. All campers stay at Arlington Hall in a private room, inside a two- to three-bedroom suite where they can meet their fellow players. Campers can also choose extended day camp and stay nearby.
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Casa Manana Inc.
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Age: 8 to 14 years old
Length: Day camp
Cost: Starting at $350 (payment plan available)
Does your child want to sing, dance and perform under glowing stage lights? Casa Manana runs a three-week-long musical theater camp that is sure to raise their star power. Campers spend half the day in acting, singing and dancing lessons and half the day in rehearsals for Once Upon a Mattress. Camp ends with two full performances on the Casa main stage. The camp is open to all skill levels, and auditions are low-key, with every camper scoring a part in the final production.
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PGA Junior Golf Camp
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Age: 6 to 17 years old
Length: Day Camp, with half and full day options available; Competitive Edge overnight camp (locations nationally)
Cost: Starting at $250
PGA Junior Golf Camps cater to players of all levels. During half-day camps, which are tailored for new to intermediate golfers, each child learns golf skills in a fun camp environment. Golfers work on skills including full swing, short game and basic rules and etiquette. Full day camps for kids of all ability levels build on that half day curriculum, but also include afternoon course play and advanced technology.
All camps are taught by PGA professionals, and include three hours of hands-on instruction each morning. For high school or tournament players, Competitive Edge overnight camp includes course management and tournament-like conditions, with top instructors.
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Camp Pursuit, by NuMinds Enrichment
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Age: 1st to 8th grade
Length: Day camp, with extended care available
Cost: Starting at $175 (scholarships available)
Camp Pursuit works to introduce kids to their passions, and offers classes across the STEAM spectrum, with everything from mythology and creative writing, to automation, scientific sculpture, astronomy, technology and more. It is a high-achievement, mixed age camp, where kids choose four different classes to build their day. Teachers focus on introducing kids to real, inspired learning and giving campers adequate space and time to dive deep into their interests and discover what they are most excited about.
Note: Because classes are mixed-age, some classes have a "recommended brain age."
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Little Medical School of North Texas
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Age: 4 to 12 years old
Length: Day camp
Cost: Prices vary based on location
Does your child have an interest in first aid and medicine? At the Little Medical School, kids can go to "mini-med school," where they learn about organ systems and how their bodies work. They also study basic first aid, read X-rays and discover how to treat broken bones. For aspiring veterinarians, camp also covers pet medical care. All students will go home with their own doctor's bag and projects from the week.
Want mini-med school to come to you? If you provide the venue, they can create a custom program for groups of eight or more.
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Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center
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Age: 6 to 11 years old
Length: Day camp, with extended care available
Cost: Starting at $105
Does your child love all things nature? Campers at Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center learn about animals, habitats and conservation, using the great outdoors as their classroom to approach questions from a scientific perspective. Daily activities are designed to build self-confidence in a fun environment, where kids can explore, play games, do science experiments, make arts and crafts and take field trips to go swimming.
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About the Author
Beth Swanson
Beth Swanson is a freelance writer and physical therapist in Washington State. She writes about parenting, active family life, health, and technology, and how those topics often relate to one other. Follow her on Twitter @write4chocolate.
Beth Swanson is a freelance writer and physical therapist in Washington State. She writes about parenting, active family life, health, and technology, and how those topics often relate to one other. Follow her on Twitter @write4chocolate.
