Put down the phone and back away slowly. It's so much fun to make and play your own DIY games! In our wildly popular Toy Shop format, makers will design and build fun games like rainy day games, pinball machines, and outdoor games. We'll spend the last two days creating our own games toy shop where campers will make a game company, then sell their games to each other, play, and have fun!

If your kiddo loved stitching their first stuffie, they will LOVE this camp. We'll spend the week designing and stitching more complex and detailed stuffies, soft-sided games, miniatures, and toys. We’ll learn more about patterning, creating three-dimensional objects, and more advanced stitching techniques. In true Toy Shop fashion, our week will culminate in a super plush toy sale for campers to swap their soft-toy creations.

In our Things That Move Toy Shop 2.0, we'll design and build all sorts of playthings with locomotion. Makers will explore simple machines by creating toys and gadgets with moving parts like wheels, pulleys, screws, and ramps. Things that Move is the perfect camp for those crafty kids with a mind for engineering and problem-solving. Makers will build projects like wooden rolling toys, marble runs, pompom catapults, Ferris wheels, and Rube-Goldberg-style Mouse Trap games. We'll practice skills like design thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, prototyping, and constructive feedback while making super fun toys that really move. In true Toy Shop fashion, makers will create their own toy company with toys that move and then sell their creations to one another.

We've fallen in love with puppets around here. There are endless ways to design, construct, and perform with puppets. From marionettes to Muppets, puppets are a maker's dream. In this week-long camp, participants will explore puppetry traditions from all over the world. We will learn about present-day and historical ways people made and performed with puppets. But most of all, we'll spend our days designing and constructing our own puppets and theatre. Puppets are a perfect way to experiment with simple machines by developing puppets with moving parts. We will follow the group's lead to build scripts and stages for our puppet show masterpieces. The last day will be dedicated to rehearsals and performances. There's something for everyone in this creative camp!

We’ll learn all about treehouse design, then plan and build miniature tree houses at 1:12 scale using natural sticks, popsicle sticks, and plenty of low-temp hot glue. We’ll even add in peg doll characters and loads of details. These mini treehouses will provide hours of imaginative play long after the camp ends. 

So we won't actually be at the zoo, but this will be a wild adventure! Zoo campers will choose their favorite zoo animals to recreate in miniature menageries and costumes. Makers will learn creative craft techniques like papier mache, wire sculpture, and hand sewing. In our culminating experience, we'll create our own life-size zoo experience with trainers, animals, and more!

Do you have an inventor/tinkerer on your hands? Send them to Cool Contraptions! We will design and build large-scale Rube Golberg-inspired machines with moving parts. Makers will learn all about simple machines, design thinking, collaboration, building techniques, and safe tool use.

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 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.

Let's go on an epic craft journey together! We'll explore all the creative gold in the fairy tale world of knights and castles. We'll create knight costumes, swords and shields, and miniature castles. In our culminating experience, campers will create their own Renaissance festival with costumes, props, performances, and more!