Over the course of one week (or three!), Tinkering Camp provides an immersive opportunity to build with real tools to solve real problems. Budding engineers will find joy in the challenges, knowledge in the failures, and the confidence and ability to keep trying.
Tinkering promotes creative problem solving, flexible thinking, a failure-positive mindset, and to top it off. . . it is incredibly fun! Working with other like-minded children and adult collaborators, Campers will have a chance to bring their imaginations to life.
Each week’s challenge offers multiple entry points for the youngest to most advanced problem solvers – making sure Tinkerers stay curious and dedicated to the project as it unfolds throughout the week. The process is more important than the end result; imagination and ingenuity will guide the outcome each week.
Location: The majority of Tinkering Camp will be held outdoors at DuPage Children’s Museum. We will have access to outdoor work space as well as playtime in the Museum.
Group Breakdown: 8 to 10 children per group*
Junior Collaborators: 11 – 15 years
Junior Collaborators (JCs) build even more! At Tinkering Camp, JCs have the opportunity to contribute to awe-inspiring collaborative projects while experiencing what it’s like to be in a leadership role. They will mentor younger children as they build their communication, negotiation, leadership, and social skills.
*Campers will remain with the same group of children and camp staff for the entire week.
Adult:Child Ratio: 1:5
Week 1: Monday, July 12 – Friday, July 16 | SOLD OUT
Week 2: Monday, July 19 – Friday, July 23 | SOLD OUT
Week 3: Monday, July 26 – Friday, July 30 | SOLD OUT
Week 4: Monday, August 2 – Friday, August 6 | SOLD OUT
Summer Tinkering Camp | 9 am – Noon
Member: $125/wk | Non-member: $160/wk
Pricing is per child/per week
Receive $10 Off per Camp: Register multiple children or register for multiple camps and receive $10 off per camp. Use code: TINKER10 at checkout to receive discount.
Get More Details: Click Here for Summer Tinkering Camp FAQs
Please Note: Images used on this page were taken pre-Covid. Campers and staff will be required to wear masks at all times with the majority of camp taking place outdoors.
Monday, July 12 – Friday, July 16
Registration Deadline: Monday, July 5
Tinkerers will create moving, spinning, flying creations that propel their prototyping powers to the outer limits!
Launch means many things: get going, start, begin, embark on, initiate, originate, create, pioneer, mastermind, commence… Tinkerers will build unbelievable gadgets and gizmos that will reach new heights of creativity.
Projects:
Please email dthacker@dupagechildrensmuseum.org to receive a notification if a spot opens up for your child(ren). Include number of children you would like to register, camp dates, and contact information.
Monday, July 19 – Friday, July 23
Registration Deadline: Monday, July 12
Have you ever heard of a Rube Goldberg machine? (Google it!) What better way to learn about cause and effect while exploring the necessary interconnectedness of all the pieces and parts that make machines work. Tinkerers assemble! (And also disassemble!)
Projects:
Please email dthacker@dupagechildrensmuseum.org to receive a notification if a spot opens up for your child(ren). Include number of children you would like to register, camp dates, and contact information.
Monday, July 26 – Friday, July 29
Registration Deadline: Monday, July 19
This week Tinkerers will create their own wheeled vehicles to test on a track of our very own creation! Then take flight; explore all things that fly and make the world’s greatest paper airplanes, cardboard boomerangs, gliders and kites!
Projects:
Please email dthacker@dupagechildrensmuseum.org to receive a notification if a spot opens up for your child(ren). Include number of children you would like to register, camp dates, and contact information.
Monday, August 2 – Friday, August 6
Registration Deadline: Monday, July 26
Due to popular demand… we’ve added a 4th week of Tinkering Camp! Tinkerers will create their own wheeled vehicles to test on a track of our very own creation! Then take flight; explore all things that fly and make the world’s greatest paper airplanes, cardboard boomerangs, gliders and kites!
Projects:
Please email dthacker@dupagechildrensmuseum.org to receive a notification if a spot opens up for your child(ren). Include number of children you would like to register, camp dates, and contact information.
Join us for one week or all four! Attending all three weeks of Tinkering Camp will provide the ultimate opportunity for young engineers, designers, and inventors to expand their creative problem-solving skill set. Children will build self-confidence through a platform of innovative collaboration with peers and perseverance through challenges.
When children arrive at Tinkering Camp, they are met with real tools, real materials, and adult collaborators who are ready to help them grow, learn, and build. The curriculum is born out of children’s perceptions of what those materials can become. Each week, an overarching challenge helps to propel the Campers in the same direction. After a morning of tool training, the project is revealed and oftentimes building and testing will begin right away. Other times, Tinkerers will need to dwell in the design phase, exploring concepts and ideas on paper before diving into the work.
Tinkering is the playful precursor to the more serious activity of engineering. Tinkering starts with very simple questions like: “What can I do with this?” or “How does this work?” and often leads to making something. When children tinker, they are learning about the properties of materials, the capabilities of tools, and the way to identify unique solutions to problems.
Each camp session will begin with some safety tips. Keeping children safe while using a variety of materials and building involves letting them take and manage risks. Working on and completing projects is very empowering to young children and promotes a sense of independence.
Daily Milestones
EACH WEEK
MONDAY: Tool Training, Project Challenge Reveal, Planning
TUESDAY: Work Day
WEDNESDAY: Walking Field Trip (See FAQ for details)
THURSDAY: Work Day
FRIDAY: Project presentation & Disassembly | Caregivers are invited to attend
EACH DAY (Sample Schedule)
9:00 am: Campers Arrive
9:15 am: Project Introduction, Safety Training
9:45 am: Design, Build, Prototype
10:30 am: Snack Break
10:45 am: Design, Build, Prototype
11:30 am: Finish up, Clean up, Play, Pick up
Summer Tinkering Camp | 9 am – Noon
Member: $125/wk | Non-member: $160/wk
Pricing is per child/per week
Receive $10 Off per Camp: Register multiple children or register for multiple camps and receive $10 off per camp. Use code: TINKER10 at checkout to receive discount.
Cancellation Policy:
Join us for one week or three!
Questions?
Contact Dustin Thacker, Arts & Maker Specialist
dthacker@dupagechildrensmuseum.org
Week 1: Launchpad
Monday, July 12 – Friday, July 16
Week 2: Crazy Contraptions
Monday, July 19 – Friday, July 23
Week 3: Let it Roll – Make it Fly
Monday, July 26 – Friday, July 29
Week 4: Let it Roll – Make it Fly
Monday, August 2 – Friday, August 6
Please email dthacker@dupagechildrensmuseum.org to receive a notification if a spot opens up for your child(ren). Include number of children you would like to register, camp dates, and contact information.
