All camps at this grade level are held at a D97 elementary school and priced at $180 for a half-day, full-week session and $145 for half-day, four-day session (Week 3). Read more about our amazing BASE Camp teachers. Please register for your child’s grade level as of Fall 2022.
AM Camps
Bead Builders (3rd-4th) NEW CAMP!
| Week 4 | July 11 to July 15 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 5 | July 18 to July 22 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Let your imagination soar and explore weaving with beads and other objects. Have a favorite animal? Figure out how to use ocean glass, pony beads, wire and shaping tools to craft unique designs that bring those creatures to life! Wow your friends and family during a culminating showcase at the end of camp. Instructor: Tania Wilson. You may register for multiple sessions; campers can create different designs each session!
Board Game Makers (3rd-4th)
| Week 3 | July 5 to July 8 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM (4-day week) | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Take your board game-playing know-how to the next level and become an inventor! In this camp, you’ll start by playing popular and creative games to figure out how they work and what makes them fun — what logical thinking, math, or memory skills do you use to play them? Use what you’ve learned to think outside the box and brainstorm ideas for your own tabletop games, then create and revise a prototype to play test with other campers. You’ll have fun creating a catch phrase to pitch your invention to your family and friends at a game release party on the last day of camp.
Crash Test LEGOs (3rd-4th)
| Week 4 | July 11 to July 15 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 5 | July 18 to July 22 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Design. Build. Crash! Engineer vehicles with top-notch safety features to protect an egg “passenger.” How will you make the best use of limited building supplies — LEGOs and everyday items such as cotton balls and rubber bands — while meeting the specifications (or rules) of the challenge? Test your designs using a ramp and crash pit. Analyze the results, then rethink and re-build. Each day a different set of building supplies will be introduced. How will you combine them to keep your egg from getting scrambled? Instructor: Ryan Winchell You may register for multiple sessions; campers can build different machines each session!
CSI Oak Park: Junior Detectives (3rd-4th)
| Week 1 | June 20 to June 24 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 2 | June 27 to July 1 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 3 | July 5 to July 8 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM (4-day week) | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Use forensic science to solve a mystery! Become a crime scene investigator and get eyewitness accounts, match ink samples through chromatography, and analyze fingerprints and DNA. Each day, you’ll uncover new evidence until you find the culprit. Learn tricks of the trade from real-life crime fighters to earn your spot on the CSI Oak Park crime-busting team. Instructor: Adam Bautista. Content will be the same each session.
Epic Contraptions (3rd-4th) NEW CAMP!
| Week 1 | June 20 to June 24 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 2 | June 27 to July 1 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Let your inner designer shine by working with found objects and Sphero Littlebits magnetic electronics to create a series of challenges that introduce mechanics, engineering and other fantastic physics. Your week will culminate by working with other campers to create a “chain reaction contraption” inspired by Rube Goldberg. Instructor: Tye Johnson.
Lego Regatta (3rd-4th) NEW CAMP!
| Week 3 | July 5 to July 8 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM (4-day week) | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session How do you design a sailboat with LEGOS to glide as fast and far as possible using only the wind power of a box fan? Learn about force and motion while testing your engineering and critical thinking skills in this LEGO design-build camp. You will work in teams to brainstorm on your yacht designs — experimenting with different size sails and wheels — to make your land-boat fly across the “waves” in speed challenges. Demonstrate all you’ve learned about building the sleekest, speediest yacht by competing in a culminating regatta with fellow campers.
LEGO Testers (3rd-4th)
| Week 1 | June 20 to June 24 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 2 | June 27 to July 1 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Your job is to engineer the perfect bridge in an imperfect world. You will plan, design, build, and test a bridge structure out of LEGOs. But here’s the twist: you must also meet the engineering specs (size of the bridge and requirements for a minimum load weight) and manage a budget for materials with limited resources. Working in teams, you will build, analyze, test, and rebuild your bridges multiple times to fine-tune your design. Content will be the same each session.
Minecraft Explore (3rd-4th)
| Week 3 | July 5 to July 8 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM (4-day week) | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 4 | July 11 to July 15 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 5 | July 18 to July 22 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Join fellow campers in a secure Minecraft world for creative design challenges. We will be using teamwork and problem-solving skills to create and read maps, tackle environmental challenges, and virtually explore architecture from different places and times. We’ll create our own adventures, build societies and systems, and plan treasure hunts in the immersive and creative world of Minecraft. Instructor: Griffin Waterman. Previous experience with Minecraft is helpful, but not necessary.
Robot Wranglers (3rd-4th) NEW CAMP!
| Week 4 | July 11 to July 15 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 5 | July 18 to July 22 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Learn to wrangle one of our most compact and versatile robots yet–the Edison! Use drag and drop programming to send your robot on a series of adventures. Improvise your robot design by using gears, wheels and other LEGO blocks. Learn individually, and then work in teams to complete an ever-increasing set of challenges. Instructor: Caitlin Tisch. Content will be the same each session.
Sew Monsters and More! (3rd-4th)
| Week 1 | June 20 to June 24 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 2 | June 27 to July 1 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Have you ever wanted to make your own silly or sweet plush toy? Transform your inventive design from sketch to lovable monster, playful stuffed animal, or useful accessory. Learn to use, adapt and create patterns; apply simple math and geometry to engineer your creations with felt, needle and thread; then add your own distinctive details using embroidery or embellishment. You’ll have sew much fun fabricating one-of-a-kind creatures and creations! Instructor: Georgina Swanson. You may register for multiple sessions; campers can make different creatures and creations each session.
Tinker Lab (3rd-4th)
| Week 4 | July 11 to July 15 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 5 | July 18 to July 22 | 9:00 – 11:30 AM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Do you love experimenting and working with your hands? You’ll tinker with a variety of familiar and new materials using ideas from MAKE: magazine and a toolbox of maker supplies. You might fabricate a greeting card that lights up or an art-making bot. Boost your innovation, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking skills with new maker challenges each day, and immerse yourself in the captivating process of design and invention. Instructor: Tyler Banks. Content will be the same each session.
PM Camps
Crazy Chemistry (3rd-4th) NEW CAMP!
| Week 1 | June 20 to June 24 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 2 | June 27 to July 1 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Science is everywhere! Using common household substances such as eggs, milk, lemons and ice, examine the chemical reactions that cause them to shrink, expand, change color, and more. Play with your food by making marshmallows explode, or by transforming milk into plastic. Connect chemistry to your everyday life as you explore the role of elements, and examine molecular bonds, live cultures, and gases… all with basic ingredients from your kitchen cabinet and refrigerator. Instructor: Val Brown. Content will be the same each session. Note: all ingredients will be nut free, and specific ingredients used can be shared upon request.
Critter Science: Invertebrates (3rd-4th)
| Week 1 | June 20 to June 24 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 2 | June 27 to July 1 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Inspect insects, annelids (worms), and crustaceans (pill bugs) up close and personal. Analyze and dissect real specimens, with a focus on tiny invertebrates (animals lacking a backbone). You’ll learn how living organisms are built and what makes them function. Use microscopes for a closer look into the wonders of these small critters. Document your observations in a sketch journal just like a real scientist and bring it home to continue your adventures. Content will be the same each session. Register for our Week 3 Vertebrates camp to learn about animals with bones.
Critter Science: Vertebrates (3rd-4th)
| Week 3 | July 5 to July 8 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM (4-day week) | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Inspect mammals and other vertebrates (animals containing a backbone) up close and personal. Investigate owl pellets, dissect chicken wings, learn about cells and tissues of animals, bone structure and purpose, and lots more. You’ll learn how living organisms are built and what makes them function. Use microscopes for a closer look into the wonders of these small critters. Document your observations in a sketch journal just like a real scientist and bring it home to continue your adventures. Register for our Week 1 or Week 2 Invertebrates camp to learn about animals without bones.
CSI Oak Park (3rd-4th)
| Week 4 | July 11 to July 15 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 5 | July 18 to July 22 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Use forensic science to solve a mystery! Become a crime scene investigator and get eyewitness accounts, match ink samples through chromatography, and analyze fingerprints and DNA. Each day, you’ll uncover new evidence until you find the culprit. Learn tricks of the trade from real-life crime fighters to earn your spot on the CSI Oak Park crime-busting team. Instructor: Adam Bautista. Content will be the same each session.
Improv Engineers (3rd-4th) NEW CAMP!
| Week 4 | July 11 to July 15 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 5 | July 18 to July 22 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Invent on the spot in this engineering, improvisation theater workshop! As a team, we’ll learn a little bit more about ourselves, our peers, and problem-solving through improv techniques and team building. Learn how to stretch our minds and build our bodies into abstract sculptures, noisy machines–even planes, dragons and butterflies. On our final day, our friends and family will marvel at our improvisation games and creations. Instructor: Rhona Taylor. Please dress for mess! Content will be the same each session.
Junior ANIME-tors (3rd-4th) NEW CAMP!
| Week 4 | July 11 to July 15 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 5 | July 18 to July 22 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Explore Manga basics such as character and background design using classic Manga styles, then develop a story and create panels to develop their character and plot. By the end of camp you will learn how to bring your story creation to life through digital animation. Content will be the same each session.
Know It! Grow It! (3rd-4th)
| Week 4 | July 11 to July 15 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 5 | July 18 to July 22 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Ever heard the expression, “You are what you eat”? Let’s investigate and examine the food we put into our bodies. We’ll learn to detect sneaky ingredients and decipher mysterious food labels. From field trips to science, art and growing projects, we’ll explore all aspects of the food chain. We’ll take an excursion with our food from farm to table and work to attract pollinators to the garden. Finally we’ll put all of this knowledge to use when we visit a community garden in Austin to work with real food crops. Instructor: Maya Barros-Odim. Content will be the same each session.
LEGO Architects (3rd-4th)
| Week 3 | July 5 to July 8 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM (4-day week) | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 4 | July 11 to July 15 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 5 | July 18 to July 22 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Use your creativity and problem-solving skills to construct celebrated natural and human-made wonders using LEGOs! Projects will build on ideas from famous Chicago-area architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Jeanne Gang, and contemporary architect Frank Gehry. Kids will work both individually and in small groups. We’ll document our projects and share them with friends and family at the end of camp. Instructor: Ryan Winchell. Content will be the same each session.
Minecraft Explore (3rd-4th)
| Week 1 | June 20 to June 24 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 2 | June 27 to July 1 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Join fellow campers in a secure Minecraft world for creative design challenges. We will be using teamwork and problem-solving skills to create and read maps, tackle environmental challenges, and virtually explore architecture from different places and times. We’ll create our own adventures, build societies and systems, and plan treasure hunts in the immersive and creative world of Minecraft. Instructor: Griffin Waterman. Previous experience with Minecraft is helpful, but not necessary.
Mythical Magical Art (3rd-4th)
| Week 2 | June 27 to July 1 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Unicorns! Dragons! Mermaids, fairies and wizards! Let your imagination soar as you create art inspired by mythological creatures. Fabricate an enchanting vessel to store artifacts and specimens of your own creation. Invent and artfully record your creatures’ habitat, diet and other distinctive characteristics. Craft otherworldly fur, hair or skin samples. Other artifacts you might make include a magic scepter or special potions. All art is possible in the fantastic world of the mythological. Instructor: Jocelyne Adkins.
Robot Wranglers (3rd-4th) NEW CAMP!
| Week 1 | June 20 to July 4 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
| Week 2 | June 27 to July 1 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Learn to wrangle one of our most compact and versatile robots yet–the Edison! Use drag and drop programming to send your robot on a series of adventures. Improvise your robot design by using gears, wheels and other LEGO blocks. Learn individually, and then work in teams to complete an ever-increasing set of challenges. Instructor: Scott Naber. Content will be the same each session.
Song Engineers (3rd-4th)
| Week 3 | July 5 to July 8 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM (4-day week) | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session What are the building blocks of a great song? Learn programs such as GarageBand and SoundTrap to gain a better understanding of the fundamentals of songwriting. Add your own lyrics, and sing, rap, or play instruments if you would like to experiment with those skills. You will write an original composition and have the option to share it with the world. No background in music required. Bring your own headphones/earbuds.
Speedometry Overdrive (3rd-4th)
| Week 1 | June 20 to June 24 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Get your engines racing for an advanced version of this hands-on physics fun, using Hot Wheels cars and ramps to engage in science concepts such as energy, force, and motion. Develop creative problem-solving skills and learn scientific and engineering practices such as analyzing and interpreting data. Instructor: Adam Bautista.
Treasure Hunt: Mapping Adventures (3rd-4th) UPDATED CAMP!
| Week 3 | July 5 to July 8 | 12:30 – 3:00 PM (4-day week) | at D97 school TBD |
1-week session Join a treasure hunt with a twist! Discover both the beauty and functionality of maps, learn how to make your own compass, as well as other treasure hunting tools. Use your imagination and cartography skills to create a map for others to follow for a hidden bounty. Then be the first to find the ultimate treasures left by your fellow campers at the end of the week. Instructor: Tye Johnson.