Iowa City Area Guide to Summer Camps

Welcome to Iowa City Moms’ Blog’s guide to summer camps in the Iowa City area! When school is out for the summer, parents need a safe place for their kids to learn, explore, make memories, and try new things. Of course, kids just want to have fun! Luckily, everyone can get what they need when you find that perfect summer camp for your child. This guide features premier summer camp options brought to you by our local camp sponsors. (If you are interested in promoting your camp programs please email us. We’d love to talk to you!)

Discover some of the unique, challenging, and delightful summer camps that Iowa City has to offer. We hope you find just what you’re looking for!

Willowwind’s Summer Program offers unique learning experiences, small multi-age classrooms, experienced educators, and a culture of caring which set Willowwind apart from other programs. Our summer classes engage students in exciting, hands-on, experiential learning.

Classes are organized in five multi-age groups: preschool (ages 3-5), kindergarten, 1st-2nd grade, 3rd-6th, and 6th-8th. Class sizes of 10-16 students ensure each child gets individual attention and is able to take an active role in the classroom.

We also offer engaging Before and After Summer Programs (BASP) for all campers for an additional cost.

Big Picture Gallery & Studio offers 1/2 day (3 hour) art camps. Each camp is a week long and focuses on a different media type: Ceramics, Painting, Drawing & Collage, and Printmaking & 3D Art. Two sessions of camp will be held for each media type; however, different projects will be done at each session, so students can register for both sessions if they would like.

We offer a special “Double the Fun” deal: register two students for the same session in the same transaction and receive a $20 discount off the total price.

Children excel with Enrichment Therapy & Learning Center’s summer academic programs! Let us help your child reach their full potential in reading, math, and social skills. Our programs take an individualized approach and are based on the student’s skill level, not their grade level or age. Meeting the child at the skill level they are helps them succeed in the classroom!

Kindergarten Prep
Early Triumph Over Reading (Kindergarten-1st Grade Skill Level)
Triumph Over Reading (2nd-6th Grade Skill Level)
Navigating Social Skills (2nd-6th Grade Skill Level)
Mastering Math (2nd-6th Grade Skill Level)

Camp Wyoming is a Christian summer camp located in Jones County, Iowa. We run summer camp programs for kids in kindergarten through 12th grade including weekend, partial week, and full week camps! This is a great way to get outdoors, have fun, make new friends, and grow in your faith.

At camp, kids will participate in activities like archery, kayaking, canoeing, challenge course, swimming, bubble soccer, sling shots, sports, caving, hiking, arts & crafts, Bible study, worship, and more! Choose from traditional camp programs that let you try everything at camp or try a specialty camp like Pirates, Music, Arts, & Drama, Thrill Seekers, Sports, or Night Owls. There’s something for everyone at Camp Wyoming.

This summer, the Prairie Green learning community invites students to come experience our style of education in our unique multi-age setting. We combine outdoor education with art and music to provide a healthy, engaging, and fun learning environment. Our goal with opening our doors is to give families an opportunity to enroll in Prairie Green School just for the summer.

Dolls & Dancers
Spend the week with your most loved doll friend learning ballet! You’ll dance with your doll, costume your doll and perform with your doll. This week long themed camp includes ballet class, games, snack time, a daily craft project to go along with the theme of camp, and a performance at the end of the week for friends and family!

Party in the U.S.A.
Get in the 4th of July holiday spirit with us! You’ll spend the week playing games, dancing, and crafting all to the theme of the beautiful RED WHITE AND BLUE! At the end of the week campers will perform for friends and family.

Sparkle Squad
Get your ‘sparkle’ on with us! This camp includes not only includes games, snack time, and dance classes in jazz, acro, and pom technique. Each daily craft project is jewelry based… You’re dancer will sparkle and shine! At the end of the week campers will perform for friends and family.

IMAGINE THAT! Musical Theater Camp
During Musical Theater Camp your dancer will learn numbers from a Broadway show to perform at the end of the week. Along with dance class, you dancer will get to watch performances from the show and receive instruction in acting. This theater themed camp also includes games, snack time, a daily craft project, and a performance at the end of the week for friends and family.

Join The Iowa Children’s Museum for a summer full of movie magic! Through our fun-filled camps, kids will play, learn, and venture behind-the-scenes, back in time, around the galaxy, into the school of wizardry, under the sea, and more! Each camp is designed to appeal to kids of diverse skill levels and a wide range of ages.

Choose between the AM session, PM session, or full-day option, as well as extended care opportunities.

Each camp is designed to appeal to kids of diverse skill levels and a wide range of ages.

Make your own animations with FilmScene! FilmScene campers will work in teams to produce, direct, and edit their own animations—totally from scratch. Each day we will learn about different animation styles (GIFs, claymation, light & shadow puppets, hand-drawn cartooning, video game sprites, and more) and make mini-movies that will give us a better understanding of what is possible in animation. We will learn about the Principles of Animation to make our movies more polished and professional. For the closing ceremonies, we will premiere our movies for family and friends in FilmScene’s Scene 1 cinema.

Each day in our week-long camp will include hands-on learning with iPads, Stop Motion Pro software, multi-directional lighting and a wide range of materials from paper to sand. We will watch the work of other animators to study styles and methods. Each day will also include stretching breaks, snacks, and provided lunch.

Day camps are designed for all youth going into 1st-5th grades, and is a 4-day program of outdoor fun and activities, including: Games, Archery, Crafts, BB Guns, Outdoor Skills, Catapults, and Water activities. We have 3 dates and locations for our day camps.

Family Camp is an overnight weekend camping adventure for the entire family at Howard H Cherry Scout Reservation. It is an opportunity to enjoy nature and each other in a fun, beautiful outdoor setting away from the business of everyday life. Staffed activities include: swimming, climbing wall, shooting sports, obstacle course, fishing, crafts, and a campfire program.

New memories, friends, and adventures await every camper at the premier summer camp for girls, Camp Liberty. Set on 245 wooded acres in New Liberty, Iowa—60 minutes from Iowa City—Camp Liberty provides life-changing opportunities for Girl Scouts across eastern Iowa and western Illinois. Trying new things, learning new skills, and gaining confidence is what camp is all about.

The staff at Camp Liberty are ready to welcome your Girl Scout and provide her with the best summer ever!

Children sign up and receive an activity sheet that encourages them to read and be read to throughout the summer. Activities also provide opportunities to play, discover, create, try new things, and learn more about using the library. When children complete their activity sheet, they receive a prize. See the calendar for weekly events for specific ages. The library has reading programs for all ages, from babies to adults.

Join the Johnson County Historical Society for our “Little School on the Prairie” summer camp this June! Campers will experience what life was like for students who attended the Coralville Schoolhouse long ago. Campers are encouraged to dress in period clothing as they enjoy one-room school lessons, crafts, snacks, and recess games that follow the 1876 theme.

Kindergarten Readiness: In this fun and engaging camp, kids develop the building blocks for early reading and writing through exciting, multisensory activities. ($125)

Engineering Camp: The kids will have the chance to build cool models and structures using KNEX® or LEGO®. Along the way, They’ll learn STEM skills and practice awesome engineering skills. Enroll in both weeks for even more fun, without repeating activities! ($99)

Robotics Camp: The kids will build cool models out of LEGOs® and animate them with award-winning WeDo™ software –while they learn basic programming skills. Enroll in both weeks for even more fun, without repeating activities! ($99)

Spelling and Handwriting Success: This camp will give your child a multi-sensory approach to studying spelling. Handwriting is a lost art! During this week we will dive into the basics, so you can read what they write! ($125)

Sum Fun: A fun approach for your child to improve understanding of basic addition and subtraction skills, while increasing speed and accuracy. If your child is excelled, they will be introduced to multiplication and division! ($99)

Coding Camp: Blast into big-time fun! Kids will learn basic programming skills (if they need them). Using coding “building blocks” and cool technology, the kids will bring characters to life and build their own video games. Beginners and novices are all welcome – we can accommodate all levels! ($125)

Start Smart: Study Skills Camp: Students learn reading skills that can help improve speed, comprehension, and recall. Out program helps students not only manage the increased workload of high school, but also helps them increase scores on the ACT and SAT and sets them up for success in college and beyond! ($125)

Back to School Boot Camp: Middle School can be an exciting but challenging time for students. They have to adjust to new environments, take on more responsibilities, and handle heavier workloads. Our Back to School Boot Camp will give your child the skills and confidence needed for success – both in and out of the classroom. ($125)

Fit for Pre-Algebra, Algebra and Geometry: Kids love electronics, so we are capitalizing on it! Your child will stay engaged while working on the IPAD in our game-like setting. They will work themselves through our ALGEBRA-LAND, solving real world problems with… ALGEBRA! But don’t forget about Pre-Algebra, Geometry and Algebra II, we have those as well! ($125)

Advanced Reading Skills Seminar: Students learn reading skills that can help improve speed, comprehension and recall. Our program helps students not only manage the increased workload of high school, but also helps them increase scores on the ACT and SAT and sets them up for success in college and beyond! ($360)

NewBoCo is excited to offer our 2018 Summer Challenge Camps! We have camps on coding, entrepreneurship, and leadership for 2nd-10th graders. Our courses cover everything from Crime Scene Investigation to Coding FUNdamentals to Video Production and more!

Camps are $179 with limited scholarships available. Dates: June 11-15; June 25-29; July 9-13; and July 23-27.