NYC’s #1 Creative
STEM Camp
The above AI-generated images were created from prompts that combine “kids creating in a makerspace” and our current top 10 most popular creative projects from our STEM Summer Camp. Can you find them all?
Every week of MakerState’s STEM Summer Camp features themes in hands-on creative projects including STEM arts and crafts, engineering, robotics, coding, machine learning, rocket science, game design, Minecraft, 3D design and 3D printing, and more.
Our camps feature lots of socializing, team creativity, and outdoor play, fostering skills in communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
STEM Summer Camp is led by our Maker Fellow camp coaches, background-checked teaching artists and undergrads in STEM with passions in STEM/STEAM (STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math).
Lots of Outdoor Play & Games!
We’re really focusing on hands-on building with friends, outdoor play, and lots of fun team challenges this summer! We’ll head outside for every STEM crafts project that we can and add lots of breaks for fun, healthy games outdoors like Water Balloon Olympics, Amazing Races with Parkour, Freeze Dances, Scavenger Hunts, and Capture the Flag Laser Tag!
In between our hands-on projects, we’ll take play breaks in and outside that give us plenty of time for fun, healthy games like Capture the Flag Laser Tag and water balloon relays!
Keeping your kids healthy and safe
Our camps comply with CDC and NYC Covid health regulations to include any distancing and masking mandates in place at the time of the camp.
What a Day at Camp looks like
Drop off and creative play Open Makerspace: exploring and creating with littleBits, MaKey MaKey, CircuitScribe, Snap Circuits, and more.
Circle Meeting: We explore the morning challenge and the project we’ll be building, emphasizing the STEM concept/skill, and showing real-world applications. We’ll also discuss the skills badges and Challenge Coins we’ll earn today!
Snack Break: We’ll take a break for snacks during this morning build time.
Break for lunch and recess, which includes games, laser tag, water balloons, and more.
Circle Meeting and another challenge and project building session in the afternoon.
Circle Debrief: We reflect upon our creativity and collaboration and earn our badges.
Pick Up and creative play Open Makerspace
After Camp Open Makerspace (SEPARATE REGISTRATION REQUIRED) – We keep the camp fun going from 3pm to 5pm every day with outdoor games, Scratch Coding, Geocaching, Lego Creative Challenges, Game Tournaments, Minecraft Engineering, makerspace creative time, and fun challenges (treasure hunt, coding challenge, chess competitions).
Learn why Camp is so much Fun
- Day camp for makers ages 6-12
- At least two hands-on STEM tech-arts projects every day
- Recess & play every day with laser tag and water balloons
- T-shirt, lanyard & project badges awarded
- Skill-building in coding, design, problem-solving, communicating, collaborating, and more
Hands-on building
Every day features hands-on building projects and science experiments as well as creative projects in 3D printing, Robotics Arts, Minecraft Engineering, Laser Tag and Outdoor Play.
STEAM tech projects in:
- Scratch Coding: MIT’s art-centric, color block-based coding platform
- Tinkercad: Computer Aided 3D Design and 3D printing
- Lego Robotics: Virtual robotics with obstacle courses, artificial intelligence, and coding
- Kerbal Space Program: the kid-friendly rocket simulation used by NASA and SpaceX
- Minecraft Engineering: Mine, build and code in a an open sandbox play world
- Roblox Game Studio: Play, code and design games together in this open play world
- Lego Digital Design: imagine, design and create your own Lego pieces
- Piskel: 2D art and animation creation
Daily Camp Traditions
Monday
Day
Tuesday
Wednesday
Day
Thursday
Day
Friday
Pajama Day
Daily Challenges
Earn Daily Badges!
Strong Minds are Built, not Born
We’re Building a Sustainable & Inclusive Future
Social Emotional Learning
Fun first, hands-on, creative, skill-building! See you at STEM & Coding Summer Camp!
Deeper Learning at MakerState STEM Camp
Fostering Executive Functioning
Our daily projects and practice introduce executive function and self-regulation skills. Executive functioning is the mental process that enables us to plan, focus attention, make decisions, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. These fundamental abilities, often called the “CEO of the Brain”, enable school achievement, positive behaviors and relationships, healthy life choices, and later career success. Our approach to Executive Functioning comes from the Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University.
Social Emotional Learning
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is how children learn to understand and manage emotions, set goals, show empathy for others, establish positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. Our young engineers practice these SEL skills within daily project-based learning experiences. Our approach to SEL comes from the pioneering SEL research and standards of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL).
After Camp Care (ExTended Day)
After Camp Play extends the fun of STEM Camp until 5pm!
We keep the camp fun going from 3pm to 5pm every day with outdoor games, ScratchGeocaching, Lego Creative Challenges, Scratch Coding Game Tournaments, Minecraft Engineering, and makerspace creative time. Pick up any time until 5pm. Late pick up fees apply for picks up after 5:30pm. You may register for an entire week of After Camp for $120 or one or more single days for $30/day.
What if I’m running late to pick up my child?
Same day purchase of After Camp is a great option if you know you are going to be running late that day. It happens! In those cases, please text your camp director and ensure that you’ve purchased a single day of After Camp on our site ($30) by the time you pick up your child.
Extended Day Charges
If you pick up after 3:30pm, you must be registered and paid on our website for After Camp for that day at $30.