Partner Camps

We've partnered with some of our favorite camp providers to bring you Craftsman Camps across the city. Join us at Colorado Academy, Stanley British Primary School, or Graland Academy.

@ COLORADO ACADEMY

June 6th-10th

Forget the big box toy store. Put down the Legos. In this week-long camp, makers will explore a variety of building techniques to design and create the most awesome playthings. We will use tools, wood, and wheels to create rolling toys, stitch together dolls and stuffed animals, we’ll even use recycled materials to invent games and activities that will keep your child engaged long after camp is over. On the last day of camp, we will collaborate to create a child-run pop-up market for those who would like to sell their creations. Kids will learn about design, craftsmanship, safety, business, marketing, and more, all while having a blast.

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@Colorado Academy

June 20th-24th

Developed by a crew of crafty kids at Park Hill Elementary, our Space Craft Camp is out of this world! We'll explore all things outer space real and imagined as we use a variety of craft materials and techniques to create everything from space ships, planets, aliens, and more. Think cardboard rockets, papier-mache planets, even astronaut and alien costumes. It's going to be a blast!

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@Colorado Academy

June 27th-July 1st

Carnivals are all about having fun and what’s more fun than making your own DIY carnival?! In this week-long camp, makers will use cardboard, wood scraps, and up-cycled materials to create all sorts of carnival-inspired crafts. Projects include cardboard mini-games (Plinko, skeeball, pinball, etc), a mini-carnival swing ride or Ferris wheel, and moving character puppets like a trapeze artist or a strong man. We’ll end the week by creating a collaborative carnival with DIY games and Prizes. Choose your own maker adventure with more miniatures and prizes. In this super fun DIY camp, makers will flex their creative muscles while learning all about engineering, simple machines, design, and collaboration. This is creative STEAM at its best.

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@ STanley British Primary

July 18-22nd

AGES 8-13! Does your kiddo love tiny things? We do, too! In our Tiny Town Camp, we'll create all things in miniature. Tiny Town is all about creating a miniature world using all sorts of materials and techniques. Makers will develop a theme and story then create a plywood structure as the setting. They will then work to craft all the details and characters they’ve dreamed up in 1:12 scale. Each day we'll have a new provocation (concept, material, skill, etc) along with all our classic maker materials, tools, and know-how for your budding miniaturist to create the tiny world of their dreams. Projects include making wooden furniture, stitching soft details, polymer clay details, building with wire, painted details, and creating characters in scale.

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@ Stanley British Primary

July 25th-29th

Carnivals are all about having fun and what’s more fun than making your own DIY carnival?! In this week-long camp, makers will use cardboard, wood scraps, and up-cycled materials to create all sorts of carnival-inspired crafts. Projects include cardboard mini-games (Plinko, skeeball, pinball, etc), a mini-carnival swing ride or Ferris wheel, and moving character puppets like a trapeze artist or a strong man. We’ll end the week by creating a collaborative carnival with DIY games and Prizes. Choose your own maker adventure with more miniatures and prizes In this super fun DIY camp, makers will flex their creative muscles while learning all about engineering, simple machines, design, and collaboration. This is creative STEAM at its best.

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@ Graland Country Day

July 25th-29th or August 1-5th

1/2 DAYS! Forget the big box toy store. Put down the Legos. In this week-long camp, makers will explore a variety of building techniques to design and create the most awesome playthings. We will use tools, wood, and wheels to create rolling toys, stitch together dolls and stuffed animals, we’ll even use recycled materials to invent games and activities that will keep your child engaged long after camp is over. On the last day of camp, we will collaborate to create a child-run pop-up market for those who would like to sell their creations. Kids will learn about design, craftsmanship, safety, business, marketing, and more, all while having a blast.

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What makes our camps so darn special?

We really Love kids

We've made it our life's work to treat kids with kindness and respect. Kids are at their best when they feel safe, loved, seen, and cared for and we work to make sure every kiddo we work with knows that they are pretty awesome. We love working with our hands & learning from each other and believe that happy, healthy kids are built in community.

Experienced teachers

Our lead teacher is always a dedicated and experienced art educator who is trained in The Shop Model, a set of working practices developed by founder, Delanie Holton-Fessler. These working practices encourage campers to collaborate, to see failure as a learning opportunity, and to share in the mutual responsibilities of taking care of each other and our workspace. Our lead teacher and campers will also be supported by one highly trained assistant as well as one teen intern.

We are dedicated to creating a fun, safe, and nurturing environment for kids of all backgrounds and abilities. All of our staff are committed to treating children with respect and dignity. We love kids! Our staff is also fully vaccinated against COVID,  are certified in CPR and first aid, have undergone a CBI and FBI background check, and are mandatory reporters.

MULTI-AGE GROUP

We purposely host multi-age camps for elementary school aged kids. We think of the shop as a one-room schoolhouse. Our younger campers are encouraged by the work of older campers, older campers become experts and leaders, collaboration is fluid, and working to one’s skills rather than age expectations becomes easier. Because of our small group size, our instructors can differentiate and support each camper’s unique needs. Our teen interns are all former campers and serve as role models for the group.

THOUGHTFUL CURRICULUM

Our camp curriculum is developed by founder, Delanie Holton-Fessler and program director, Anna Loring. We have a combined 35+ years of experience in art education and are leaders in the field of creative build-play. While we carefully plan projects and curriculum, our teachers will follow the lead of the group to explore their unique dynamics, interests, and abilities. 

This will be our 9th summer camp season and we can’t wait!

DEDICATED TO SAFETY, EQUITY, & ACCESS

Each year, we commit to providing at least 20% of our programming at little or no cost to traditionally underserved communities. This includes access to our summer programming. We have a scholarship and sliding scale program. Please reach out for financial assistance or to help provide camp experiences to others. 

We respect and celebrate all children and work through modeling and respectful and positive interactions with our campers. We respect students' pronouns and identities. We understand the needs of neuro-diverse kids and will work with makers and families to support each child to the best of our abilities. We stay curious and our first shop rule is to be kind to ourselves and others. 

We think kids are capable of hard work and personal responsibility. We teach kids safe risk-taking through the use of real tools like low-temp hot glue, hammers, drills, and saws. Makers are taught to be responsible for their safety through expert modeling, observed practice, and gradual, safe independence. 

Because of the nature of our workshops, we may not always be able to meet the unique needs of each child. If you have questions or concerns about if a C&a camp is the right fit, reach out. Let’s talk. We will do our best to provide accommodations.

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