You don’t have to send your children swimming in the Seine, horseback riding in Italy or trekking through Africa to ensure an exciting summer.
They can have cheap, wholesome fun right here at home, at activities and camps sponsored by area cultural and civic institutions.
Activities
The Oriental Institute, 1155 E. 58th St., sponsors free museum adventures and craft workshops for kids ages 6 to 12 and their parents, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Thursdays, in July and August. Reservations are not required. Call 312-702-9507 for details.
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago offers free outdoor art sessions, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, from July 9 through Aug. 19, at Gallery 37, at State and Randolph Streets. The classes, featuring figure drawing, watercolor, and book, print and paper making, are open to all ages, through adult. Registration is not required, and materials are free. For information, call 312-899-5130.
Upstart Crow, 2112 Central St., Evanston, presents outdoor adventures for kids. Birdwalks will be held for ages 6 and up, at 8 a.m. on June 16 and 23. For ages 4 and above, there’s sidewalk ecology-examining the bugs and plants that live in the cracks of a sidewalk-at 8 a.m. July 7 and 14. Call 800-404-5959 to register for the free sessions. There is no deadline, and additional sessions will be scheduled if necessary.
Elena’s Booktique, 1907 Central St., Evanston, is planning free summer workshops in creative writing, improvisation, dance and puppetry for ages 7 through 13. Times and dates will be scheduled according to demand. Call 708-733-7323.
Camps
Sure, luxury camps might offer air-conditioned bunks, imported calamine lotion, mints on the sleeping bag and five-course campfires, but who among us would trade fond memories of burnt marshmallows, scraped knees and domestic poison ivy for that?
The summer day camp at Jane Addams Center, 3212 N. Broadway, is open June 13 to Aug. 27. Every week boasts a different theme for 6- to 12-year-olds, including ceramics, theater, crafts, swimming, nature and field trips (this year’s excursion is camping in Muskegon, Mich.). Fees are $45 per week, but financial aid is available. Registration is first-come, first-serve, but usually fills up in April. Call 312-549-1631.
The Chicago Park District offers hundreds of summer camps in dozens of locations around the city. Dedicated to sports, field trips, crafts or culture, the camps accept kids ages 1 through 17. Some of the camps are half-day, others are full-day. Prices range from $10 to $55 for the summer. For more information, call your local park or 312-294-2305 after April 1.
The YMCA offers dozens of summer day camps at 20 city and suburban locations; activities and prices vary at each site. Kids 3 to 17 can enjoy general recreation for $30 to $85 per week, for up to 12 weeks. Kids 8 to 17 can participate in one- to two-week overnight camps, including out-of-state adventure tours, for $110 per week. Registration is under way. Call 800-935-YMCA for a detailed brochure.
The Mexican Fine Arts Center, 1852 W. 19th St., will offer 8- to 12-year-olds free fine arts classes, four afternoons a week. The classes begin in June and run for six weeks. Call Ava Felice at 312-738-1503.
Chicago Children’s Museum’s City Stalkers Summer Camp lets your 5- to 12-year-olds join a hiphop dance troupe, practice recycling or become a junior journalist, sportscaster or inventor, plus go behind the scenes at Chicago’s theaters, playing fields, conservation stations, factories, monuments and newsrooms. Five weeklong sessions run between July 11 and Aug. 15. The museum is located at 435 E. Illinois St., but programs are held off-site. The fee is $120 per week. Registration is under way. Call 312-527-1000.
Kohl Children’s Museum, 165 Green Bay Rd., Wilmette, offers four art, science and outdoor adventure mini-camps in July and August. The $100, morning-only sessions are five days long, and open to 5- to 8-year-olds. Registration is under way. Call 708-256-6056.
Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum of Natural History unveil their Summer Worlds Tour 1994, dubbed “Giants of the Universe.” Kids can spend a week exploring outer space, visiting with whales, foraging for fossils. The day camp is open from July 25-29 for kids in kindergarten through 8th grade; Aug. 1-5 for kindergarten through 5th grade as well as grades 9 through 12; Aug. 8-12 for kindergarten to 8th grade; Aug. 15-19 for kindergarten to 2nd grade. Admission is $185 per week. Applications are being accepted; the programs usually fill within one month. Call 312-939-2426, ext. 3394.
The Brookfield Zoo, 8400 W. 31st St., presents family overnights on April 9 and 23. Parents with kids 3 years old and up can hit the animal trails night and day. Registration is $35 per night for kids, $40 for adults. The zoo’s other summer programs include weeklong morning camps for preschoolers through 6th graders, $94 to $135. Single morning zoo explorations and backstage tours will also be held for preschoolers through adults. Fees are $8 to $10. Call 708-485-0263, ext. 361. There is no registration deadline, but classes fill quickly.
The Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe, offers a series of day camps for kids 3 to 12, in June, July and August. Prices range from $25 per week for three days to $70 per week for five days. Overnight adventures for 9- to 12-year-olds are $38 per evening. Registration begins April 1; most programs fill one month in advance. Call 708-835-8261.
The Evanston Ecology Center, 2024 McCormick Blvd., Evanston, offers hands-on nature activities. Morning camps for 3- to 5-year-olds two or three days per week for three weeks, between June 20 and July 28. Prices are $48 to $72. The Junior Naturalist program, for kids entering grades 1 to 3, is a series of weeklong day camps, from June 13 to Aug. 5. Each week is $95. Call 708-864-5181.
The Chicago Academy of Sciences, the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Chicago Historical Society jointly present weeklong summer day camps for elementary school children, from July 11 to Aug. 6. Prices range from $80 to $150 per week. Call 312-549-0775.
Low-income programs
Children ages 8-12 who are on public aid are eligible for free, weeklong overnight recreation camps at the Salvation Army’s Camp Wonderland, 9241 Camp Lake Road, Camp Lake, Wis. Six sessions are held, from June 20 to Aug. 3. Daily Bible study is required. Free transportation is provided from Chicago. Call Chad at 414-889-4305, by May 31.
The Holiday Home Camp, 361 N. Lake Shore Dr., Williams Bay, Wis., is also free to Chicago-area kids 7 to 12 who are on public aid. Two weeks of general recreation and educational workshops are held throughout the summer. Programs for older children are also available. Call 312-332-0833 by April 15 to register.
For information on overnight camps with sliding scale fees (as low as $1 per week) contact Union League, 414-537-2510; United Charities’ Camp Algonquin, 708-658-8212; House in the Woods, 414-728-2752; and Chicago Youth Center’s Camp Rosenthal, 616-424-5272. The American Camping Association, Illinois Section, has information on these and other free and inexpensive summer programs. Call 312-332-2497.
