Stellar Space Party March 7
Stellar Space Party March 7
Tinkering Camp is a hands-on adventure where kids explore materials, chase their curiosity, and see what happens when they try something new. Through open-ended challenges, campers experiment, build, and discover as their projects grow and change throughout the week.
Working alongside peers and supportive adult collaborators, campers test possibilities, swap ideas, and find creative solutions together. With many ways to jump in, every camper can stay curious, engaged, and excited as projects take shape.
The focus is on the process—tinkering, experimenting, and problem-solving along the way. Final creations are fun to share, but the real magic happens in the thinking, collaborating, and confidence-building that happen every day.
Location: Tinkering Camp is held at DuPage Children’s Museum with access to outdoor work space, indoor program rooms, and playtime in the Museum.
Camps run weekly Monday, June 8 – Friday, July 31, 2026
Full-Day Camps | 9am–3pm
Half-Day AM Camps | 9–11:30am
Half-Day PM Camps | 12:30–3pm
*Pricing is per child/per week.
Make your camp week(s) Easy Peasy by ordering Lunch and Snacks from Bean Sprouts Café: View Options Here
Get More Details: Click Here for Summer Tinkering Camp FAQs
Monday, June 8 – Friday, June 12, 2026
Registration Deadline: Monday, June 1
Tinkerers will design and test their own wheeled vehicles, tweaking and refining them to perfection! Then, soar into the skies as we dive into all things that fly—crafting the ultimate paper airplanes, cardboard boomerangs, gliders, and kites.
Projects: Let it Roll – Design and build cars (things with wheels) and a track for them to race on, Make it Fly – Paper airplanes and cardboard boomerangs and your very own DIY kite
Register Today!
Monday June 15 – Friday, June 19, 2026
Registration Deadline: Monday, June 8
Tinkerers will explore a variety of art techniques and mediums, letting their creativity shine and discovering the joy of making art together! Campers will make the world a more colorful place as we experiment with all kinds of ways to paint!
Projects: Glow-in-the-dark, splatter, and mural painting
Register Today!
Monday, June 22 – Friday, June 26, 2026
Registration Deadline: Monday, June 15
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: Marble/Ball Run, Simple Machines – Levers and Pulleys, Cardboard Contraptions
Register Today!
Monday June 29 – Friday, July 3, 2026
Registration Deadline: Monday, June 22
Tinkerers will explore a variety of art techniques and mediums, letting their creativity shine and discovering the joy of making art together! Taking art off the page – campers will build three dimensional structures out of cardboard, clay, and natural materials.
Projects: Cardboard sculptures, paper mache, sculpt and paint air dry clay
Register Today!
Monday, July 6 – Friday, July 10, 2026
Registration Deadline: Monday, June 29
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: Catapults, Stomp Rockets, Air Cannons
Register Today!
Monday July 13 – Friday, July 17, 2026
Registration Deadline: Monday, July 6
Tinkering is all about playful experimentation! During Clay Play, campers will have a chance to work with all different kinds of clay, slime, and play dough – exploring, making, and playing.
Projects: Slime, play dough, clay sculptures
Register Today!
Monday July 20 – Friday, July 24, 2026
Registration Deadline: Monday, July 13
What in the world is that jumping, spinning, dancing, drawing thing? It is a wild little machine! Your imagination is the limit as we explore mechanisms, toy motors, and the physics that make things move!
Projects: Mini robots, spinning swings carnival ride
Register Today!
Monday July 27 – Friday, July 31, 2026
Registration Deadline: Monday, July 20
Let’s explore the wonderful world of soap bubbles! At Tinkering Camp we playfully experiment with the world around us. This week we will create our own bubble wands, bubble solution and find new and innovative ways to play with bubbles.
Projects: DIY bubble wands, CO2 bubbles, bubble painting
Register Today!
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 ways to identify unique solutions to problems.
Daily Milestones
EACH WEEK
MONDAY: Introduction to Camp Expectations and Project Challenges
TUESDAY: Project Work & Explore Museum
WEDNESDAY: Project Work & Walking Field Trip to Kendall Park (See FAQ)
THURSDAY: Project Work & Explore Museum
FRIDAY: Project Finalization and Reflection
Full-Day Tinkering Camp | 9 am–3 pm
For children ages 6–10 years
Member: $395/wk | Non-member: $440/wk
Half-Day Tinkering Camp | 9–11:30am or 12:30–3pm
AM CAMP For children ages 4–5 years
PM CAMP for children ages 6–10 years
Member: $225/wk | Non-member: $255/wk
Pricing is per child/per week
Cancellation Policy:
Join us for one week or eight!
See Frequently Asked Questions
More Questions?
Contact Areli Morales, Camp & Community Program Manager
[email protected]
Week 1: Let it Roll – Make it Fly
Monday, June 8 – Friday, June 12, 2026
Week 2: Art Explosion: BIG Paint
Monday, June 15 – Friday, June 19, 2026
Week 3: Crazy Contraptions
Monday, June 22 – Friday, June 26, 2026
Week 4: Art Explosion: 3D Sculpture
Monday, June 29 – Friday, July 3, 2026
Week 5: Launch Pad
Monday, July 6 – Friday, July 10, 2026
Week 6: Art Explosion – Clay Play
Monday, July 13 – Friday, July 17, 2026
Week 7: NEW! Wild Little Machines
Monday, July 20 – Friday, July 24, 2026
Week 8: Art & Science of Bubbles
Monday, July 27 – Friday, July 31, 2026
