LIST: 41 Houston area summer camps you can send your kids to

(Jill B. Jarvis)

HOUSTON – It’s clear from all the questions I get… Houston parents not only want to know what camps are available, but they want recommendations from other parents.

Below is an updated list of camps recommended by Houston parents. If you want to suggest a camp, tell us!

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Free Camps:

Find the FREE summer programs HERE. Swimming lessons, sports camps, VBS and more.

Museums/Zoo:

Houston Museum of Natural Science (5555 Hermann Park Drive, Houston, Texas 77030) Week-long camps for kids ages 6-12 years old. Registration opens in February/March. Camps are held Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Extended daycare is also available before and after camp for an additional fee.

Houston Museum of Natural Science Sugar Land (13016 University Blvd., Sugar Land, TX 77479) Week-long camps for kids ages 6-12 years old. Registration opens in February/March. Camps are held Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Extended daycare is also available before and after camp for an additional fee.

Camp Zoofari (Houston Zoo, 6200 Hermann Park Drive, Houston, Texas 77030) Week-long camps for kids ages 4-14 years old. Registration opens in February. All camps are from Monday-Friday. An extended day is available.

Art/Theater/Music:

WITS Creative Writing Camp (Multiple Locations) Kinder – 12th grade. The very popular camp opens registration at the end of January and usually fills quickly.

Main Street Theater (Multiple Houston Locations) Students take charge of all aspects of performance while the teachers (who are arts and educational professionals) provide guidance and know-how support to students (ages 4 – 18). Students write and stage their original theater pieces, creating their own roles, lines, costumes and props.

Playhouse 1960 (6814 Gant Rd., Houston, Texas, 77066) This “tale as old as time” is full of spectacular dance numbers as well as all of your favorite characters come to life! Come “Be Our Guest” this summer for a jam-packed two-week camp!

Glassell Junior School (Museum of Fine Arts, 5100 Montrose Boulevard, Houston, TX 77006) Ages 3-18.

CyFair Music and Art (7103 Glen Chase Ct, Houston, TX 77095) Drama kids, piano, guitar, drums, art, Kindermusik, baby sign language.

AFA Summer Music Festival (Kinder HSPVA, 790 Austin Street, Houston, TX, 77002) The Summer Music Festival offers programs for students in grades 3-12 in orchestra & chamber music, piano, vocal and composition sessions that last from 1-5 weeks, including large and small ensembles, technique classes, masterclasses, studio classes, sectional rehearsals music theory, ear training and other enrichment studies.

Outdoors/Animals:

Nature Discovery Center (7112 Newcastle, Bellaire, TX 77401) Week-long camps with different themes. Camps are limited to 22 children each week, with 4 teen counselors assisting the camp instructor.

Houston Arboretum (4501 Woodway Drive, Houston, TX 77024)Get outdoors with the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center this summer! The Arboretum’s Summer Camp is a great place for kids ages 4-12 to learn all about the natural world.

SPCA Critter Camp (900 Portway Drive, Houston, TX 77024) Camp from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Grades 3-8.

Blackwood Nature Camp (27144 Rock Island Road, Hempstead, Texas 77445) A week-long overnight camp for ages 8-14 located in Hempstead, TX. Build a relationship with nature and safely explore the great outdoors. Campers enjoy a variety of outdoor activities including classes such as natural dyeing, cane-pole fishing, and cooking. They play forest games, hike, swim and explore. They learn about wildlife in workshops hosted by local experts and go on educational field trips to places like St. Francis Wolf Sanctuary and Huntsville State Park. At night, they stargaze, tell stories, and roast s’mores by the campfire.

TGR Exotics Wildlife Park (22115 Sherrod Land, Spring, TX 77389) Camps include a tour of the animals, snack, activity, crafts and games. Topics may include animal costumes, animal defenses, animal senses, animals in motion, animal diets, predator/prey, birds of a feather and bugs.

STEM/Academic/Language:

STREAM Program (Houston Public Library) Free week-long summer program that allows students the opportunity to participate in activities relating to each aspect of STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts and Math) each day of the week. K through 12.

Rainard School STEAM Camp (11059 Timberline Rd, Houston, TX 77043) Designed for gifted minds from ages 3.5 to 12 years old, it will provide small targeted and rotating workshops. Your child will experience a fun and academic series of workshops that will cover STEAM inspired topics including robotics, theater, vet sciences, cooking and more!

University of Houston Summer Camps (Multiple Locations) Many camps are offered, including architecture for high school students, EXPLORE summer business camps, Blaffer Art Museum summer workshops, “Classical Minds” Guitar institute, Cougar Band Camps, Cougar Junior Scholars Camp, Equinor STEM Camp, Chiyoda Young Innovators’ Academy (STEM), Fiction and nonfiction/journalism for high school students (Creative Writing Program/Wonderworks), Filmmaking for high school students, G.R.A.D.E. (Girls Reaching and Demonstrating Excellence), ITECH-STEM Summer Technology Camp for grades 3-6, Jazz Institute, Pharmacy Summer Camp, Speech Therapy Summer Sessions: Cougar Communication Groups, UH Cougar Cub Summer Camps, University of Houston Clear Lake Summer Camps, University of Houston Downtown Summer Camps.

Language Kids (Multiple locations) Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, French and English immersion summer camps.

Dance/Gymnastics/Sports:

The Artz (Heights) Join us for our Aerial Circus Endeavor summer program. Keep your little people, ages 5-15, active with our multi-week camp as they fly high and gain confidence. Normal hours are from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Extended hours are available for an additional charge.

Hunter Dance Center (Heights) Storybook Dance Theater Camps and camps for older kids. Ages 5-12.

Handwriting & Yoga Camp (Solaris Pediatric Therapy) Ideal for kids that are entering kindergarten or first grade, but can also benefit older kids that really never got a grasp on handwriting.

JC Sports Houston and JC Sports The Woodlands (Humble & The Woodlands) Five full days packed with activities including soccer, baseball, football, basketball, glow in the dark soccer and Nerf wars, EPIC water balloon fights, dodge ball, science fun and more. Ages 4 to 13.

Inspire Rock Climbing Camp (Cypress, Spring)These camps are developed to help the climber with technique, problem-solving, planning and execution.

Rice Owls Sports Camps (Rice University) Football, Soccer, Tennis, Volleyball, Basketball, Baseball, Track and Field, STEM-letics camps offered throughout the summer.

Sur la table (Multiple Locations) Five days of fun making their favorite foods. Kids (ages 7-11) and teens (12-17) will put on an apron and learn to cook delicious recipes from scratch.

Cooking/Baking:

Rao’s Bake Camp (Spring and Beaumont) Rao’s Bakery & Coffee Café has designed a fun learning experience to help your children explore the fun and thrills of baking. Kids will learn how to read recipes, follow directions, let their creativity blossom and enjoy snacks and games.

Urban Chef (3651 Weslayan St, Houston, 77046) A week full of cooking, baking, learning and competition. Kids will learn all about ingredients, cooking methods, developing flavor and making recipes of their own. Two classes offered, one for elementary age (entering grades 1 through 5) and one for middle and high schoolers.

Main Course Cooking School (18750 Interstate 45 N. Spring, TX 77373) This is a cooking and dining experience. You will enjoy the fruits of your labor and eat the meal/dishes you make.

All-Around/Christian/Sleep Away:

Kidventure (Multiple Locations) Running camps at multiple locations in Houston, Austin and Dallas for 19 years. Registration opens in February. Ages 3 – 15 years old.

Summer Youth Activity Program (Rice)Four sessions in June and July, for kids aged 6 to 11.

Houston First Baptist Daycation and Dunamai (Houston’s First The Loop Campus) Houston First Baptist Daycation for 5th grade and under and Dunamai for 6th grade.

Camp West (Westbury Christian School) Students ages 3-10 enrolled in Westbury Christian School’s 10-week Summer ASAP! Camp will have fun making friends and participating in hands-on sports, STEM, social studies and fine arts activities designed by real classroom teachers.

Cougar Full Day Summer Camp (Northland Christan School) Daily prayer, singing, activities, games, crafts, sports and field trips. Extended days are available. Kindergarten through 5th grade.

Victory Camp (Living Stone Church, 1407 Victory Lane, Alvin, Texas 77511) Christian camp in operation since 1992. Activities include quad-zipline, swimming, rock walls, double waterslide, bumperboats, paddleboats, gym sports, field sports and go-karts.

Camp Cho-yeh (Livingston) Christian camp with activities like archery, paintball, horseback, riflery, blobbing, wakeboarding, tomahawk throwing and more. Ages 6 – 16 years old. Sleep-over camp.

Pine Cove (Columbus & Tyler, Texas) Christian camp with day camps, overnight camps and even camps for the entire family!

Camp Lantern Creek (Montgomery, Texas) Girls camp for ages 7 to 17. Learn to change a tire, sing a song, laugh a lot, love nature, swim, make waves, win gracefully, lose gracefully, tell story, act, paint, make a mess, write a story, right the world, push boundaries, make friends forever, make your art and find your voice.

Camp Eagle (Rocksprings) Sleep away camp for grades 1st – 7th. It’s where kids gather for unbridled fun and real outdoor adventures. No phones. No devices. No wifi in these woods.

Camp Deer Run (Winnsboro) A Christian summer camp in East Texas that exists to provide a camping experience where God is seen, His love is felt, and lives are transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

Texas A&M Sea Camp (Galveston) Sea Camp is a week-long residential adventure exploring the wonders of the marine and estuarine environments for campers ages 10-18. As a sea camper, you will have access to research vessels, oceanographic equipment, laboratory facilities and a professional staff enabling you to learn about the ocean through hands-on experiences.

Texas A&M Sports Camps (College Station) Aggie camps offer a wide range of instruction for both boys and girls, ages 8-18.

This article originally appeared at JillBJarvis.com and is being featured here as part of a partnership. Click here to view the article in its original format.