Picking a summer camp can be hard, especially with the huge number of options available. This list shows the best camps for a variety of interests.
Sports: Skyhawks Sports Camps
http://www.skyhawks.com/
Skyhawks offers 15 different sports for campers to choose from, which are taught locally at camps all over the country. They offer the typical baseball, basketball, and soccer, but they also have harder to find sports, like capture the flag and mini-hawk.
Performance Arts: New York Film Academy
http://www.nyfa.edu/summer_camp/
Hosting a prestigious program with specialties in filmmaking, acting, musical theater, screenwriting, and more, the New York Film Academy is the choice destination for the sons and daughters of many Hollywood stars, including Robert Downey Jr., Steven Spielberg, and Bono. The camp also sends in a huge number of famous guest speakers, including Ron Howard, Kevin Spacey, and Sir Ben Kingsley.
Arts and Crafts: Long Lake Fine Arts Camp
http://www.longlakecamp.com/arts-camp.html
Equipped with 20 art studios and 22 artists in residence, this camp offers everything from ceramics and sculpture to puppetry to jewelry and silver smithing. Their program in mixed media also lets campers use their own expertise and equipment to create art in new forms.
Educational: Space Camp
http://www.spacecamp.com/
What kid doesn’t want to go to Space Camp? Or really, is there anyone who doesn’t want to go to Space Camp? With flight simulators, anti-gravity chairs, and even SCUBA diving, Space Camp makes science, math, engineering, and even history interesting. Campers leave with a strong knowledge of space craft and their history, as well as hands-on experience with science experiments.
Special Needs: Camp Paivika
http://www.camppaivika.org/default.htm
Camp Paivika is an overnight special needs camp for children and adults with mild to severe developmental and physical disabilities ranging from autism to cerebral palsy to Down’s Syndrome. They stand our for their wide variety of accessible programs, including swimming, horseback riding, arts and crafts, nature studies, and even overnight camping trips.
Sleep-away: Sanborn Western Camps
http://www.sanbornwesterncamps.com/
Located on a beautiful 6,000 acres in Colorado, Sanborn Western Camps will offer outdoor experiences campers can’t get anywhere else. Plus, this camp lets campers choose what they want to do-- at the beginning of each session, they line up the day trips and overnight trips that most interest them, picking from a variety of options including rock scrambling, pottery, tubing, and visits to fun local landmarks.
Travel: 360 Student Travel
http://360studenttravel.com/?gclid=CLf4t-65zK4CFS6htgodu1r-AQ
360 Student Travel offers a variety of trips in countries all around the world. Any camper will be sure to find a trip that interests them, whether they’re looking to do something active, do community service abroad, learn a new language, prepare for college, or something completely different.
Community Service: Rustic Pathways
Rustic Pathways offers community service programs all around the world, but it also offers plenty in the United States. Some highlights are the You, A ‘Roo, And Australia Zoo, where campers get to volunteer with zookeepers at Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo, Rethinking New Orleans, which has campers not only helping to rebuild the city, but also coming up with ways to make it better, and Come With Nothing, Go Home Rich, a program in Thailand that has campers do service in small villages in Thailand while travelling with nothing more than a change of clothing and five personal items.
Atypical: Pali Overnight Adventures
www.paliadventures.com
Pali offers one to two week specialty sessions focusing on things that you won’t be able to find anywhere else: movie make-up, secret agent camp, Hollywood stunt camp, flying trapeze camp, and much, much more. Basically, if there’s anything that you ever dreamed of doing, this camp probably has it.
Overall: Campus Kids NJ
http://campuskids.com/CKNJ.html
The best part about Campus Kids NJ is its versatility—the camp is sleep-away, but only from Monday through Friday. Campers are given the option to go home on the weekends or to go on Weekend Adventures to local attractions. They also have the option to choose their own activities each day. Plus, the camp offers the sleep-away camp vibe without the cabins— the camp is located on the campus of Blair Academy, and students live in their dorms. The entire summer is designed by the camper, and so they’re sure to always be having fun.