five-day camps for grades K-12

Summer Camps

Come beat the heat—and summer brain drain!

Our week-long summer camp experiences are about exploring everything the Museum has to offer. Campers can engage in a wide variety of interdisciplinary activities bridging science, art and engineering. Don't miss out—this summer is going to be a blast!

  • Monday–Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • One-week sessions available between July 7 and August 22, 2025.
  • $500 per camper ($450 for Griffin MSI members)
  • After Camp (3–4 p.m.) available: +$100 per camper
  • Snack and beverage provided. Campers will need to bring a lunch.

Scholarships for camp fees are available for students and their families who demonstrate financial need. Contact us for details.

Giving a camp as a gift? You can give the young scientist an Griffin MSI Gift Card in the amount of the camp. Their parent or guardian can later redeem the card, select the camp, and register the camper.

Mini Makers (grades K-1)

You’re never too young to start making! Join us in our Fab Lab Studios, and let’s build stuff together. Get ready to have a ton of STE(A)M fun and see what you can create. For youth entering grades K-1 in fall 2025.

  • Cosmic Blast Off

    Cosmic Blast Off! 
    For youth in grades K through 1.
    Join us on a journey to a destination far, far away! From the Moon, Mars and beyond, learn what scientists are looking for in the great unknown. Complete your mission with hands-on STE(A)M activities to help humans survive and thrive while we explore the final frontier. Related exhibits: Henry Crown Space Center, Transportation Gallery.

    • July 7–11 or August 4-8, 2025

    Registration

  • SuperHero Science

    SuperHero Science 
    For youth in grades K through 1.
    Heroes come in all shapes and sizes! Tap into your superhero strengths and discover how science can save the world. From solving problems  to building your own superhero gear, these activities will help you become the hero of your own story. Related exhibits: Wired to Wear, 007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond.

    • July 14–18 or August 11–15, 2025

    Registration

  • Fiber Artists

    Fiber Artists 
    For youth in grades K through 1.
    Learn the fundamentals of sewing and leave with a custom design made by one of the greatest artists in the world… YOU! Create your own interactive art piece using tools and techniques straight from our Wanger Family Fab Lab. Related exhibits: The Art of the Bicycle, Wired to Wear.

    • July 21–25 or August 18–22, 2025

    Registration

  • Critter Caretakers

    Critter Caretakers 
    For youth in grades K through 1.
    Even critters need some TLC! Campers will put their medical and design skills to the test to customize their own plushy critter creation. Build, care for and take home your own Griffin MSI plushy animal. Related exhibits: Farm Tech, Numbers in Nature.

    • July 28 - August 1, 2025

    Registration

Tinker Tots (grades 2–3)

Come tinker away in our Fab Lab Studios! Whether it is designing with paper and cardboard or creating works of art and design, there is something for every kiddo in our Tinker Tots camps. Dive into your toolbox to discover your potential! For youth entering grades 2-3 in fall 2025.

  • Circuit Benders

    Circuit Benders 
    For youth in grades 2–3.
    Let’s get connected! Create circuit systems that move and harness electricity to power the world around us. Bend and squish circuits to build energizing objects and create solutions. With these skills at your fingertips, the power is yours! Related exhibits: Wired to Wear, Notes to Neurons.

    • July 7–11 or August 4-8, 2025

    Registration

  • SuperHero Science

    SuperHero Science 
    For youth in grades 2–3.
    Whether flying through the city or writing code to change the world, being a superhero takes a lot of science. Learn how to build your own superhero tech with our vast array of fabrication tools. Unlock your inner superhero and discover how you can change the world! Related exhibits: YOU! The Experience, 007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond.

    • July 14–18 or August 11–15, 2025

    Registration

  • Fiber Artists

    Fiber Artists 
    For youth in grades 2–3.
    Learn the fundamentals of sewing and leave with a custom design made by one of the greatest artists in the world… YOU! Create your own interactive art piece using tools and techniques straight from our Wanger Family Fab Lab. 
    Related exhibits: Yesterday’s Main Street, Wired to Wear.

    • July 21–25 or August 18–22, 2025

    Registration

  • Cardboard Wunderkinds

    Cardboard Wunderkinds
    For youth in grades 2–3.
    Come join us in our Fab Lab Studios and invent your own machines with one of the most sustainable materials in the world: cardboard! Use our laser cutters to come up with amazing cardboard creations. Related exhibits: The Art of the Bicycle, Swiss Jollyball.

    • July 28 - August 1, 2025

    Registration

Young Makers (grades 4–6)

Join our Young Makers camps and immerse yourself in the world of MAKING! Use 3D printing and laser cutting technology to create solutions for all types of challenges. Join us in our Fab Lab Studios and get your gears turning! For youth entering grades 4-6 in fall 2025.

  • Cardboard Mechatronics

    Cardboard Mechatronics 
    For youth in grades 4–6.
    Let’s get moving with some cardboard mechatronics! Whether creating the gears of a bike, a train or a robot, these hands-on activities developed in our Wanger Family Fab Lab will help you go the distance. Learn to use cardboard, circuits and sensors to engineer amazing machines. Related exhibits: The Art of the Bicycle

    • July 7–11 or August 4-8, 2025

    Registration

  • World of Circuits

    World of Circuits 
    For youth in grades 4–6.
    Let’s get connected! Create circuit systems that move and harness electricity to power the world around us. Bend and squish circuits to build energizing objects and create solutions. With these skills at your fingertips, the power is yours! Related exhibits: Wired to Wear, Notes to Neurons.

    • July 14–18 or August 11–15, 2025

    Registration

  • Brick Builders

    Brick Builders
    For youth in grades 4–6.
    Whether building up or scaling down, use tools from our Wanger Family Fab Lab to build on your engineering skills and literally measure your success! From giant skyscrapers and castles to whole neighborhoods, learn how to build with bricks to scale. Engage in STE(A)M challenges and create groundbreaking structures. Related exhibits: Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle, Cars, Ships Gallery

    • July 21–25 or August 18–22, 2025

    Registration

  • Design Studio

    Design Studio
    For youth in grades 4–6
    Get your gears turning! Learn how to solve everyday problems by designing unique and creative solutions, within our Fab Lab Studios. Through the use of prototypes made from a variety of materials and technologies you will get to express your creativity and imagination and see your own ideas take shape! Related exhibits: Wired to Wear, Cars, Ships Gallery

    • July 28 - August 1, 2025

    Registration

Young Adventurers (grades 4-6)

Learn about our world class exhibits at Griffin MSI, design and make unique creations, and go behind the scenes to see how science connects us all!  From hands on activities to interactive experiences, see how science and technological magic is made. Engage in STEAM content throughout Griffin MSI and see how YOU can make an impact! For youth entering grades 4-6 in fall 2025.

  • Amplify Yourself

    Amplify Yourself
    For youth in grades 4 through 6
    Listen to the power within you! From using unique instruments to using your own body, learn how sounds and light resonate within the mind, body, and soul. Learn about the ability of sound to transform the world around you! Related exhibits: Wired to Wear, Notes to Neurons

    • July 7–11 or August 4-8, 2025

    Registration

  • Space Station Griffin MSI

    Space Station Griffin MSI
    For youth in grades 4 through 6
    From blasting off into the unknown, to landing back on solid ground, learn how humans live and work in outer space. Engage in hands-on activities to complete your mission! Discover how human life can survive in the elements of outer space and on other planets. Related exhibits: Henry Crown Space Center, Notes to Neurons

    • July 14–18 or August 11–15, 2025

    Registration

  • Heroes v Villains

    Heroes v Villains
    For youth in grades 4 through 6
    Team up with your fellow campers for a week of challenges – both good and evil! Get inspired by our world-class exhibits and learn how to build your own superhero tech, after all being a superhero takes a lot of science. Unlock your inner superhero (or villain!) and discover how you can change the world! Related exhibits: Wired to Wear, 007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond

    • July 21–25 or August 18–22, 2025

    Registration

  • Exhibition Art

    Exhibition Art
    For youth in grades 4 through 6
    Tap into your inner artist and discover how science and art blend together! Explore our world-class exhibitions and learn how art and design help connect us with science, technology, and industry. Compose your own creations using innovative design strategies and creative techniques. Related exhibits: Science Storms, Extreme Ice

    • July 28 - August 1, 2025

    Registration

Explorers (grades 7–9)

Explore the Museum, inside and out, to engage with the world around us!  From traveling through space to noticing the patterns within our environments, there is something for every explorer out there. Join us for an immersive experience and see how STEAM is in everything that you do! For youth entering grades 7–9 in fall 2025.

  • Art Techo

    Art Techo
    For youth in grades 7 through 9.
    Learn how technology is used to create amazing works of art! Discover how we use robots and machines to make your own mind-blowing creations! From paintings to buildings, take your creativity to the next level with tech. Related exhibits: Wired to Wear, Notes to Neurons

    • July 7–11 or August 4-8, 2025

    Registration

  • Exploration Space

    Exploration Space
    For youth in grades 7 through 9
    Join us on a journey to a destination far, far away! From traveling to the Moon, Mars and beyond, learn what scientists are looking for in the great unknown. Complete your mission with hands-on STEAM activities to help humans survive and thrive while we explore the final frontier. Related exhibits: Henry Crown Space Center, Earth Revealed

    • July 14–18 or August 11–15, 2025

    Registration

  • Science Heroes

    Science Heroes
    For youth in grades 7 through 9
    Discover how science creates solutions to solve the problems of the world!  Learn how science takes the ordinary and makes if extraordinary. With science as your toolkit, you can solve anything! Get inspired by our world-class exhibits and start building your own superhero tech. Related exhibits: Notes to Neurons, 007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond

    • July 21–25 or August 18–22, 2025

    Registration

  • Noticing Nature

    Noticing Nature
    For youth in grades 7 through 9
    From patterns in nature here on Earth to those within our solar system, explore the beauty of math and composition embedded within environments that are all around us! Engage in hands-on STEAM activities to find out how we use—and are affected by—patterns in our daily lives. Related exhibits: Numbers in Nature, Notes to Neurons

    • July 28 - August 1, 2025

    Registration

Fab Lab Camps (grades 7–12)

  • Fab Lab Makers

    Fab Lab Makers
    For youth in grades 7–12.
    Come into our Fab Lab Studios and see what you can make! Use our design tools like 3D printers and laser cutters to create whatever you put your mind to! Cosplay? Videogame design? Electronics? Art? We got you! Join our team of makers and unlock your full creative potential!

    • July 7–11, 2025
    • July 14–18, 2025
    • July 21–25, 2025
    • July 28 - August 1, 2025
    • August 4–8, 2025
    • August 11–15, 2025
    • August 18–22, 2025

    Registration

  • Fab Lab Apprentices

    Fab Lab Apprentices
    For youth in grades 7–12
    Expand your design thinking abilities by either becoming a Bridge Mentor to younger camp participants or further develop your skills and tackle your own "design thesis project” working under our Wanger Family Fab Lab Manager, Patrick McCarthy.

    Note: This is an advanced session for experienced campers who have completed a previous summer session at Griffin MSI and are familiar with digital fabrication, analog prototyping and creative problem solving. Prior use of the Fab Lab Grid and who have earned “belts” in prior camps is ideal.

    • July 21–25, 2025
    • August 18–22, 2025

    Registration

Future Dates

Sign up for email updates to find out when next year's Summer Camps registration will open.