Camp Live Oak
A modern, progressive take on traditional summer camp, Live Oak gets kids into the great outdoors for outdoorsy, nature-y fun. Science, arts and crafts, all sorts of water sports including canoeing and paddleboarding – this camp has something healthy, educational and fun for kids of every age.
Information: campliveoakfl.com
Where: Broward locations Hugh Taylor Birch State Park and Dr. Von Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park. Camp is also held at Oleta River State Park in Miami-Dade.
Chess Summer Camp
Exercise a child’s mind and give her a challenging hobby for a lifetime. The Broward Chess Club runs a number of great programs, and in the summer they give kids the chance to learn that most elegant of games. All skill levels are welcome.
Information: browardchessclub.com
Where: Tigertail Lake Recreational Center, 580 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach
Funky Fish Ocean Camp
Help Florida kids enjoy being Florida kids as much as possible. Funky Fish gets kids out in the salt water for snorkeling, boogie boarding and skimboarding. Land-based activities like tie-dye or hemp jewelry making will guarantee little surfers have the right little surfer gear. And they even get to check out coral reefs on a glass-bottom boat.
Information: funkyfishkidsday.com
Where: Fort Lauderdale locations include Bahia Mar, the Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt Regency Pier 66 and Marriott BeachPlace Towers
Fort Lauderdale Stars Gymnastics Camp
They’ll be indoors, but they won’t be sitting down. Fort Lauderdale Stars gets kids tumbling, balancing, jumping and getting more exercise than they likely will in a month’s worth of recess during the school year. Budding Olympians are welcome, but any kid with energy to burn will find plenty of fun here.
Information: ftstars.com
Where: Fort Lauderdale Stars Gymnastics, 730 N Federal Hwy. (at the front of Holiday Park)
Camp Discovery and Ocean Explorers Camp
The Museum of Discovery and Science’s two camps – Camp Discovery is for 6- to 12-year-olds, Ocean Explorers Camp is for incoming seventh- and eighth-graders – pack a lot of learning in with a whole lot of fun. Camp Discovery has different themes by week – everything from “Pirate Parrrty” to “Masters of Disaster” to “ChemArtistry” – while Ocean Explorers Camp, offered for one week each in June and August, splits time between the museum and Florida Atlantic University’s SeaTech facility in Dania Beach.
Information: mods.org/camps
Where: The Museum of Discovery and Science