No school over winter break is cool. . . until cabin fever takes hold, that is. Whether your kiddo is an athlete, a thespian, a nature nut, a chef or a little bit of all of the above, we have the lowdown on can’t-miss winter break camp shenanigans.
photo: Di Lewis via pexels.com
The Kids’ Table
Cold winter days are synonymous with hibernating and staying cozy by the warmth of the stove. Extend that tradition to the kids with hands-on cooking classes that are the perfect mix of cooking, eating and play. Campers spend about half their day in the kitchen chopping, grating and rolling their way to delicious meals they can replicate for you at home (bonus!). The rest of the day is spent on food-themed crafts and games, nature walks, park play, movie time and more.
Held various dates Dec. 23-Jan. 3
The Kids’ Table
2337 W. North Ave., Wicker Park
2864 N. Lincoln Ave., Lakeview
Online: kids-table.com
Tomten’s Workshop
Kick off holiday break with a fun one-day camp! Children will learn all about Swedish holiday traditions through crafts, stories, games, music and other activities.
Dec. 23
Swedish American Museum
5211 N Clark St, Andersonville
Online: swedishamericanmuseum.org<
Second City
Have a budding comedian tickling your funny bone daily? Sign ‘em up for classes led by some of Chicago’s funniest folks. In the Improv & Clowning class, students learn to think on their feet, build self-confidence and creativity—and wear a clown nose sometimes. Improv & Stand Up helps students develop their jokes and delivery. The littles can even get in on the giggles with Mini Camp, which introduces them to the concepts of improv, storytelling, clowning and theater crafts. Be prepared for a winter break full of laughs after this camp!
Held various dates Dec. 16-Jan. 4
Second City Training Center
1608 N. Wells, Old Town
312-664-3959
Online: secondcity.com
photo: Emerald City Theatre Company
Emerald City Theatre
Emerald City Theatre’s drop-in camps are always bursting with imaginative fun and creative play for budding thespians. Themes this year include Frozen Fairytales, Winter Luau, Holiday at Hogwarts, Oz Musicals and more.
Held various dates Dec. 23-Jan. 3
Athenaeum Theatre
2936 N. Southport Ave., Lakeview
Online: emeraldcitytheatre.com
Kids STEM Studio
If you have a kid, we’re pretty sure Minecraft is a word in your daily vocab. Keep those brains moving this winter break by incorporating this kid-favorite into a STEM-ulating camp. Campers create devices with simple to complex mechanisms such as light switches, traps, elevators, and automatic farms to take Minecraft to the next level. While developing games and apps, they will learn programming concepts like variables, loops, conditional statements, event handling and simulate physics concepts like gravity, force, impulse, angular velocity, and more complex movements and interactions.
Held Dec. 30-Jan. 3
Kids STEM Studio
770 W. Gladys Ave., Greektown
Held Dec. 23-Jan. 3
Kids STEM Studio
4124 Dempster St., Skokie
Online: kidsstemstudio.com
The Laboratory
No winter break slide happening on your watch . . . let the kids spend the day dabbling in robotics engineering with The Laboratory’s popular one-day immersive program. Kids will design and build a cutting-edge robot and then teach it to spin, slither, walk or drive in a Brickworld of their own creation.
Held various dates Dec. 23-Jan. 3
The Laboratory
2349 W. North Ave., Wicker Park
Online: thelaboratorychi.org
The Little Gym
If they’re going to bounce off the walls this winter, they might as well do it at a safe, padded gym with instructors that teach valuable skills. Camps here are high-energy fun with gymnastics, games and crafts at the three-hour Winter Wonderland and Winter Camping camps. It’s easy to work around nap schedules with both morning and afternoon sessions being offered.
Held Dec. 23-29
The Little Gym
3216 N. Lincoln Ave., Lakeview
Online: thelittlegym.com/ChicagoIL
Hi-Five Winter Sports Camp
As youth sports specialists, Hi-Five has developed an indoor experience that guarantees your kids come home happy and sweaty! They will play all sports in a structured, team-centric, skill-focused way. Sign up for a whole session or just come in for one day! School is out, it’s time to play!
Held various dates Dec. 23-Jan. 3
Mercy Soccer Center
226 S. Aberdeen St.
Online: hifivesportsclubs.com
photo: Lincoln Park Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo
With the opportunity to pick one day or every day, the Zoo’s camp has both variety and flexibility. This year’s camp offers kids the opportunity to explore the wild world of animal opposites, from big giraffes and small ants to cold-thriving polar bears and heat-focused reptiles!
Held Dec. 23-Dec. 31
Lincoln Park Zoo
2001 N. Clark St., Lincoln Park
Online: lpzoo.org
Bulls/Sox Academy
Whether you have a baseball fanatic, basketball enthusiast or both, these three-day pro-sports-affiliated camps get your little athlete ready for the season. Choose from baseball, basketball or a combination camp where coaches work with kids on fundamentals and fine tuning key skills.
Held Dec. 26-28
6200 River Bend Dr., Lisle
536 East Ave., La Grange
Online: bullssoxacademy.com
Peggy Notebaert
Nature doesn’t take a break in the winter, and neither does camp at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum! They love to teach and learn about nature in all weather—even snow! Campers ages 4 to 11 can join the Museum for one to four fun-filled days of child-led outdoor play, science activities, live animal encounters and more!
Held Dec. 30-Jan. 3
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
2430 N. Cannon Dr., Lincoln Park
Online: naturemuseum.org
photo: The Actors Gymnasium
The Actors Gymnasium
Juggle, tumble and dance your way through winter break. Budding circus performers learn to walk the tight wire, fly on the trapeze, walk on stilts and more at this energy-boosting camp. As well as being physically fun and challenging, this camp is good for increasing courage and self-esteem.
Held Jan. 2-3
927 Noyes St., Evanston
847-328-2795
Online: actorsgymnasium.org
Chicago Botanic Garden
This indoor/outdoor camp gives little botanists the chance to explore the garden in winter. Kids will investigate weather, explore seasonal adaptations of plants and animals and dabble in art.
Held various dates Dec. 23-Jan. 3
1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe
847-835-5440
Online: chicagobotanic.org
— Maria Chambers
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