Educational Summer Camps: STEM, Reading, and Writing

Just because school’s out in the summer doesn’t mean the learning stops! The low-pressure days of summer are a great time to gently boost your child’s academic strengths and weaknesses. The best part? These local camps are so fun kids might not even realize they’re learning!

Summer Science Camps and Learning Labs from the Terre Haute Children’s Museum

If you’re looking for a learning based one-day program, the Terre Haute Children’s Museum Learning Lab is a perfect mix of learning and summer fun.

Their one-day programs are geared towards specific age groups and interests. The series of drop-off programs are a one-day action packed day of fun and learning, all rolled up into one! Take a deep dive into specific topics with hands-on activities based on your camper’s age. Bring a sack lunch from home!

Themes include:

• Science of Cooking (for ages 6-12)
• Engineering Extravaganza (for ages 6-12)
• Out to Sea (for ages 4-8)
• Exciting Eclipses (for ages 6-12)
• Weird and Wacky Wildlife (for ages 4-8)

Summer means longer days, warmer temperatures and endless opportunities for children to explore at the Terre Haute Children’s Museum. This summer, there are so many chances to learn cool science concepts and have hands-on learning opportunities at summer camp. Our trained and experienced educators provide a blend of educational and interactive play experiences for all children. In addition to having a great week at summer camp, learning about a specific topic, each camper will have an opportunity to explore the Museum and spend time on the Ropes Challenge Course*.

• Camp Discovery for ages 3-5. June 5-June 9 from 8 am- 12 pm.
• Messy Science Camp for ages 6-12. June 19-June 23. 8 am – 5:30 pm.
• Fairy Tale STEM Camp for ages 4 to 8. July 5-July 7. 8 am – 5:30 pm.
• A Space Odyssey for ages 6-12. July 10-14. 8 am -5:30 pm.
• Animal Encounters for ages 5-10. 8 am -5:30 pm.

New this year!

The Vigo County History Center has summer opportunities for kids!

• Junior Time Travelers where ages 11-14 travel back in time for a photo walking tour.
• Thursday Tots where ages 2-5 enjoy crafts stories, a museum tour, and a free ice cream sundae from the museum soda shop.
• History Living Summer Camp for ages 8-12 enjoy an interactive experience in history-telling.

Additional Educational Summer Camps in Terre Haute

• Pre-K Prep Camp at Montessori Academy of Terre Haute. As the big kids go back to school, it is time for the little ones to prepare for starting or returning to preschool! This two-week camp for ages 3-6 will introduce them to the Montessori classroom environment and help them become familiar with the school day routine. The daily schedule will include circle time, snack time, a work cycle, lunch, and free play. Snack will be provided, but students should bring their own lunches.
• 2023 Math Magic Writing Wonders with the Vigo County School Corporation. MMWW will be an in-person summer program offered to students in Grades 2-5 for 14 days at Woodrow Wilson Middle School from 7:55 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Transportation will be provided to and from the students’ home school.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided as well. In writing, each day will focus on developing a weekly writing piece centered around a specific innovative and exciting theme.  Instruction will include expanding writing and technology skills, exploring different genres, and producing well written pieces of writing. In mathematics, each day will focus on standards-based problem solving. Students will also have access to digital platforms, including Beast Academy Online, which is part of The Art of Problem Solving, along with Scholastic BookFlix.  Coding activities will be part of the daily instruction.  Students will be able to complete all activities using Chromebooks. Free!
• Camp Invention. Give your young innovator an inspiring, action-packed summer adventure! All-new, hands-on challenges will spark their curiosity and build their confidence as they jump into limitless STEM fun with opportunities to imagine, plan, experiment and create.
• Connecting with Code at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Two options! Freely available online videos. The online version takes place in your home. You register (for free) to get added to the online camp mailing list. The camp consists of videos that you receive by email each camp day with a follow along Scratch or Python coding program. Option 2 is face-to-face on campus camp. The face-to-face version takes place on Rose-Hulman campus with Rose-Hulman faculty, staff, and students helping to get your son or daughter interested in software development. Each camp is 3 hours per day, lasting for 1 week (Monday-Friday). The younger students / less experienced coders learn Scratch and meet 9am-noon and the middle school students / more experienced coders learn Python meet 1pm-4pm each weekday. The material in the face-to-face camp is the same material as the online camp. We don’t don’t use videos though, we do a live presentation of the material in the first 90 minutes, then spend the next 90 minutes (after a short snack break) doing self-selected enhancements to the code with Rose-Hulman student mentors helping to guide your child’s progress. Students in the paid face-to-face camp will receive a free t-shirt to help them remember their time working with faculty and students from Rose-Hulman. Details on the room and drop-off instructions will be sent to those that join.
• Summer Science Camp at Indiana State University including STEAM camp. STEAM based camps are fun, week-long immersions into a various theme, which will include art, music, theater, games and more. Camps are a full-day so that students can enjoy different activities throughout the day and from week to week. All materials are provided unless otherwise specified. You can register campers for one week or all of them! Think, experiment, and make art like a scientist this week! Use a variety of materials to make unique experimental artwork! In music class, learn how different instruments and objects create vibrations that form sound! We will use conventional and unconventional items as instruments in these experimental music making sessions. In theater class, we will learn, experiment, and perform in our Live Science Improv Theater! Discover what science experiments and improvisation have in common through fun exercises and activities. We will also explore the gardens on campus and go swimming this week, you won’t want to miss out on the fun! Updates posted on the ISU website. 
• Free summer classes for high school students. Make your college goals a reality this summer with FREE courses for high school students at Ivy Tech! Whether you’re just getting started, almost finished, or somewhere in-between, these free courses can help!
• High school students who are rising freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors are encouraged to participate in the Challenging Ambitions and Maximizing Potential or C.A.M.P. at The Woods program and earn two college credits! The program will be facilitated on the SMWC campus from June 5th – 9th, 2023 (5 days, 4 nights). Embraced by key faculty who are experts in the subject areas for the program offerings, C.A.M.P. at The Woods has generated the opportunity to develop new and innovative curricula for high school students. The programs are immersive, engaging and share an academic core framework ensuring the quality of delivery and facilitation.

Special thanks to the Terre Haute Children’s Museum for bringing you this portion of our guide.  Please help us thank them for their support by visiting their websites, signing up for their summer opportunities, and letting them know that Haute Happenings sent you!

As always, typos happen and event details change. Please confirm with camp coordinators before solidifying your summer plans. Haute Happenings can’t be held responsible for printed errors or program changes, but we will celebrate with you if our info helped your family to have an awesome summer!