Boredom Busters: Summer Camps Galore for Every Interest

By lauragates on Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Filed Under: Local News, Towneposts

Forest Glen Nature Camp-2 Sifting through the volumes of summer camp options in our area is no small task! No matter if your child is a diva or a cowboy, into science or swimming, you’re sure to find something perfect and close to home.

We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the some of the best summer camp offerings near Geist. With all of these options, there should be no reason to ever hear, “I’m bored” this summer!

Adventure

  • Camp Indy at Horizon Christian Fellowship (7702 Indian Lake Rd.) — An outdoor adventure camp in a Christian setting for ages 4-13. Over 20 different camps; climbing wall, swimming pool, sports, fishing, music and more. Multiple sessions, $140; (317)823-2349 or www.campindy.org.
  • Adventure Camp at Conner Prairie — Canoeing and river tubing (ages 8-14); challenge course and pedal boat rides (ages 5-7); multiple sessions, $170 ($155 for members): (317) 776-6006 or www.ConnerPrairie.org.
  • Forest Glen Nature Camp — Nature survival, critter catching, horseback riding in Ft. Harrison State Park, archery, canoeing and a trip to the Challenge Course at Craig Middle School. For kids in grades 3-8, multiple sessions, $150: (317)964-4000 or email Dave Shafer at davidshafer@msdlt.k12.in.us.
  • Spring Hill Day Camp at Heritage Christian School — Climbing wall, the Flying Squirrel, water games, crafts, music and more as you learn about God and yourself. For kids who have completed Kindergarten through 4th grades; June 16-20; $190. Register at www.SpringHillCamps.com.
  • Outdoor Adventures — Raft down the White River, explore a cave, and navigate a high-ropes course. June 23-27 at Holliday Park (6363 Spring Mill Road); ages 9-11, $110: (317)327-PARK or www.indyparks.org.

Young Rembrandt's camps Art

  • Art Camp at Conner Prairie — Painting, weaving, pottery and acting; ages 8-14, multiple sessions; $170 ($155 for members): (317) 776-6006 or www.ConnerPrairie.org.
  • Young Rembrandts — Castle Camp (ages 6-12), July 7-11, and Junior Zoo Camp (ages 5-7), July 14-18, at Cumberland Park; Other Fishers area camps include: Jr. Down on the Farm Camp (ages 5 to 7), Jr. Space Camp (ages 5 to 7), Noah’s Ark Camp (ages 6 to 12), Egyptian Camp (ages 6 to 12), Cartooning Under the Sea (ages 7 to 12) and Historical Girl Camp (ages 7 to 12). All camps $50. Call (317) 979-3729 or email ssleatherman@youngrembrandts.com.
  • Indianapolis Museum of Art — Variety of classes from clay to painting and photography, for ages 4 to adult: (317) 923-1331 or www.imamuseum.org.
  • Peewinkle’s Puppet Studio — Make your own puppets and put on a show! Multiple camps for ages 5 to 10&up; 25 E. Henry St., Indianapolis; (317) 283-7144 or pwstudio@iquest.net.

Barn RATS Performance

  • BARN R.A.T.S. (Really Awesome Theatre School) — Explore all aspects of theatre with the Mud Creek Players. Week ends with a performance; multiple sessions, ages 7-11, $195. Special camps for Grades 6-8: June 9-13 and July 7-11. Call (317)290-5343 or www.mudcreekplayers.org.
  • Enchanted Princess Fine Arts Camp (ages 5-8; June 9-13, $105) and Summer Camp Musical (ages 7-11; June 16-20, $115) incorporate dance, songs and acting basics and culminate in a performance. Held at Cumberland Park; call Deidre Elkerson at (317) 570-0092.
  • The Artists Studio (12810 Ford Drive, Fishers) — Music and theatre camps for ages 3 to adult. Themes include Fairy Tales, Broadway and Improv; $150-$300: (317) 594-5070 or www.artists-studio.com.

Robot camp Science/Nature

  • Mad Science — Choose Secret Agent Lab, Robots 2008 or Science Explorers; ages 7-11. Kid’s Lab is offered for ages 5-7. Multiple dates and locations, including Fishers United Methodist Church (9690 E. 116th St.) and Ben & Ari’s (13875 Trade Center Drive, Fishers). Cost is $150 for all camps except Robots, which is $175: (317) 388-0988 or www.sciencecampfun.com.
  • Nature Day Camps at Ritchey Woods (10410 Hague Road, Fishers) — exploring nature for all ages, four programs from ages 3 to 11 ($65-95); Fishers Parks & Recreation: (317) 595-3155 or www.fishers.in.us/parks.
  • Silly Safaris Animal Camp — A week with Alligator Aaron, Amazon Jungle John, Safari Steve and all our animal friends at Silly Safari Station on Indy’s southeast side; multiple sessions, ages 5-12; $249: (317)862-9003 or www.sillysafaris.com.
  • Indianapolis Zoo — Animal encounter camps for ages 5 to 14 ($155-$235). Call (317) 630-2000 or www.indianapoliszoo.com.
  • Indiana State Museum (650 W. Washington St.) — Camps for ages 9-14 include Fiber Arts Camp, Writing and Performing, Archaeology Camp, Photography Camp, Exploring Nature Camp, History Alive! and Animals Past & Present; $100-$235: (317)232-1637 or www.indianastatemuseum.org.

Indy Ski School Sports

  • Indy Ski School at Geist — Four-day camps for beginners or intermediate level; water skiing, wakeboarding and/or kneeboarding; $250: (317)457-1573 or www.indyskischool.com.
  • No-Bummer Summer at Geist Sports Academy (11960 E. 62nd) — Cheerleading, gymnastics, tae kwondo, tumbling and more for kids through 5th grade. Themed preschool camps also offered, including musical movement, crafts and outdoor water play: (317)823-7734 or www.geistsportsacademy.com.
  • Sports of All Sorts (6002 Sunnyside Road) — Weekly adventure camp for ages 8-14, $139. Activities include dodge ball, soccer and flag football; Tiny Tots Camp, ages 4-7, $65: (317) 823-9555 or www.soasindy.net.
  • Fishers YMCA Sports Camps — Soccer, flag football, baseball, basketball, cheer/dance/tumbling; multiple sessions, ages 6-11: (317)595-9622 or www.indymca.org/camp.
  • Lifetime Fitness (8705 Castle Creek Parkway) — Sports camps for ages 3-16 including basketball, volleyball, soccer, swimming, rock climbing and cheerleading. Also offering Super Summer Camp, ages 6-12, and Junior Day Camp, ages 4-5: (317)595-9700 or www.lifetimefitness.com.

Traditional Day Camps/ Multiple Offerings

  • Camp Funshine (Fishers Parks & Recreation) — A different theme each week from June 9-Aug. 4. Little Tykes, ages 3-4, $67 — crafts, games, stories and playground time; Themes include Dino Daze, Creepy Critters and Splash Bash. Kids Zone, ages 5-6, $67 — Themes include Private Eye, Summer Safari and Walk the Plank. Adventure Club, ages 7-11, $70 — Themes include Sports Fanatics, Wild West Showdown and Crazy Concoctions & Science Solutions: (317)595-3155 or www.fishers.in.us/parks.
  • Indy Parks & Recreation — Choose from traditional day camps, Environmental Education camps or Specialty Arts camps; for all ages; $25-$90: (317)327-PARK or www.indyparks.org.
  • KinderCare Gold Medal Adventures — Traditional day camp with flexible scheduling, field trips & more. Visit www.mysummeradventures.com or call a local KinderCare facility: Geist (8190 Oaklandon Road), (317) 823-0755 or Fishers (9000 Fitness Lane), (317) 576-9344. For more locations and information, visit www.KinderCare.com.
  • MSD of Lawrence Township Summer Enrichment — Summer enrichment programs offer everything from Divas to Legos, Fairy Tales to Frogs, various sports and art themes. Most classes $80: (317)964-4000 or www.ltschools.org.
  • YMCA — Traditional day camps and specialty arts and sports camps for ages 3-15. Fishers YMCA (9012 E. 126th St.): (317)595-9622; Benjamin Harrison YMCA (5736 Lee Road): (317)547-9622.

Preschool

  • Holy Cross Summer Camp — A six-week science program for kids ages 3-6; three days a week, $16/day. Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 8115 Oaklandon Road: (317) 826-1234. Also check out the Power Lab (VBS at Holy Cross) June 16-20 for all kids up to fourth grade. FREE — Call Holy Cross to register.
  • Princess or Fairy Academy by Traveling Tutus — Camps for budding princesses and pixies at Christ’s Community Church, 13097 Allisonville Rd., Fishers; $89: (317) 435-2541 or www.travelingtutus.com.

Not sure which summer camps to choose? Check out the American Camp Association’s website at www.acaindiana.org for tips on choosing a camp, plus view a list of ACA accredited residential and day camps. ACA Accreditation means the camp provides: Healthy, developmentally-appropriate activities and learning experiences; Discovery through experiential education; Caring, competent role models; Service to the community and the environment; and Opportunities for leadership and personal growth.

Now everyone in the family should be a “happy camper!”

Silly Safaris Alligator Aaron and Amazon John at Wilderness Wildlife Week 2008 Silly Safaris Silly Safari gang

Forest Glen Nature Camp Forest Glen Nature Camp Forest Glen Nature Camp-2

Artists Studio High School Musical Encore IIArtists Studio

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Barn RATS Mud Creek Barn RATSBarn RATS Barn RATS #7 2005 - crazy shot

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RSS Feed for This Post3 Comment(s)

  1. Victor | May 8, 2008 | Reply

    We keep sending our children to camps and thank you for all the information. Children do learn to be more proactive and independent very early. We had sent the children to the camp and workshop organised by Mad Science and they have developed an aptitude to be presenters on all our social functions.

  2. david | May 9, 2008 | Reply

    We also had a great experience with Mad Science! This amazing group came to our school for a series of After School Programs and the childrn were blown away. This series was called Secret Agent Lab and the kids had the opportunity to experience all about Forensic Science! The point here is that they lerned, had fun and left with a great interest toward science and the world around them. THANK YOU Mad Science for making my kids keep an open mind an interest towards the sciences. THANK YOU for helping our Nation’s Youth feel that science is “cool”. Keep up the great work!! For those that have never experiences Mad Science with their children….you do not know what you are missing. Please do yourself a favor and visit their website at www.madscience.org to learn how to bring Mad Science into your child’s life.
    David

  3. Jeff | May 11, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks for the article. Finding the right summer camp is tough. We found some very useful information on this site: www.campcountdown.com

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As Managing Editor of at.Geist.com, it's probably no suprise that I have loved writing ever since I was old enough to make up a story and write it down on paper. In high school, I discovered journalism and began writing "true stories" for my school paper. My favorite type of story then (and now) was a good feature article on an interesting person. I was editor-in-chief my senior year and loved the opportunity to be "in-the-know" and to be "known" (since I was always considered "shy" by my peers). I decided early on to pursue journalism during my college years at Ball State, where I worked on the Ball State Daily News, interned at the Kokomo Tribune, and then went to work for The Muncie Star (now the Star-Press). Since I've always enjoyed capturing candid moments, I decided to get a minor in photojournalism, as well. I graduated in 1996 and married my college sweetheart, William. We moved to Castleton, and I worked as a reporter for the Noblesville Daily Ledger (out of the Fishers office on Ind. 37) until my first child was born in June of 1999. Since then, I have enjoyed staying home with my three children, ages 3-9. Through the years, I have done freelance journalism, wedding and family photography and corporate public relations. Being a Mom is the best job of all! To accommodate our growing family, we moved to the Highlands at Geist in October 2005. I started writing for atGeist in early 2006 and was excited to be getting involved with the community while using my journalism skills. I became Managing Editor in early 2007 and have enjoyed meeting many of my "neighbors" who are doing fascinating things. There are so many great people and great stories to be told "at Geist!"

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