Maker camps are one of the most exciting, rapidly growing type of summer camp or March break program. These camps focus on a very practical curriculum influenced by the Makerspace (also called Hackerspace) movement. Some official maker camps originated in association with makezine.com, but the term is also applied more generally and includes camps around the world. Read more
 Sprouts - Growing Bodies & Minds Leslieville, Toronto
Sprouts offers a wide array of traditional day camps as well as specialized STEM and dance camps for children 4 - 12 years of age. Read more...
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 Leaside, Toronto; Bloor West Village, Toronto
Empowering the makers of tomorrow! MakerKids specializes in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs with highly trained instructors. We run camps, after-school programs, private classes and more. Read more...
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 Online; Oakville
After-school program and summer camps for robotics, coding, game development, 3D design and other STEM activities. Read more...
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 Bloor West Village, Toronto; Online
Blend of 5 flavors in our Kids Coding & Robotics Camp in Toronto! Learn to Code, Learn to build: Robotics & Circuits, Outdoor play:Logic Games & a field trip to a tech company! Never a dull moment in our camps & programs Read more...
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 COVID-19 alert: Temporarily closed Oakville
Summer Camps will include Robotics, STEM, Drama, Art, Sports and Cooking Camps, all taking advantage of our beautiful new state of the art facility. Registration opens Wednesday, January 29, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. Read more...
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 Brampton; Mississauga; Lawrence Park, Toronto
Innovative and Engaging Coding & STEM Enrichment Classes & Camps for children 4 - 14. Read more...
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 Vancouver; Bay Street Corridor, Toronto; Online
Digital Media Academy offers the most impactful STEAM learning experiences available anywhere. Learn from art and technology professionals using industry-level software. Overnight and multi-week options are available. Read more...
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 Markham; Brampton
SV Robotics Academy is a project based learning program for bright and curious students! We help students find their love for learning, innovate and participate in numerous events year round! Read more...
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 Crescent Camps & Summer Programs North Toronto, Toronto; Online
Our Camps and Programs reflect Crescent School's excellence in academics, robotics, athletics, business, the arts and leadership, with highly qualified, enthusiastic instructors and staff. Read more...
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 No Fuss Tutors - In Home Tutoring Oakville; Markham; Lawrence Heights, Toronto
Private In-Home Tutoring | Throughout the GTA | $30 Per Hour | Math, English, Science & More | Grade 1-12 | Rated 5 Stars on Google | Try Your First Hour on Us Read more...
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 Mississauga
Mississauga Code Club offers quarterly coding, digital media, and robotics courses for kids, youth &girls of age 8-17. The growing enrollment in our courses reflects high quality and community’s trust in our offerings. Read more...
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 Leaside, Toronto
Featured in BBC. A camp where kids learn about Entrepreneurship, Money Management, Innovation, Debate Camp and even get to create their own board game! Read more...
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 Ross Creek Centre for the Arts Canning
SummerArts combines the best of camp with the best of the arts, with great food, a full rec schedule, campfire, and of course a core of incredible arts programming, all on a beautiful campus overlooking the Bay of Fundy. Read more...
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 Ontario (6); Online (1)
Mad Science Camps offer hands-on activities where children design and build a variety of projects and participate in indoor & outdoor summer camp games and activities. Create memories that will last a lifetime! Read more...
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 Ontario Tech University Summer Camps Oshawa; Online
Explore unique science and tech programa at Ontario Tech, including LEGO , Makerspace, Coding, Minecraft. Family Camps. Camps will require minimal parent support once the camp site has been successfully accessed. Read more...
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 Ontario (6); Online (1)
Science North offers innovative and stimulating summer day camps and virtual camps that introduce children to the worlds of science, technology, engineering and math. Camps are available for 4-11 year olds. Read more...
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 Markland Wood, Toronto
Arts-focused camps, classes and workshops supporting a creative learning environment where children, teens and families are encouraged to explore and enrich their lives through the arts. Read more...
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 Dovercourt Park, Toronto; Wallace Emerson, Toronto
Creative technology camps to engage your kids & teen. Topics include Robotics, Inventions, Minecraft & Video Game Programming. Read more...
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 Online; Surrey
We are running two summer camps for 2020. 1) Robot Races : Learn Robotics while having lots of fun racing LEGO EV3 robots! 2) Learn Scratch & Python in one week or two week camps. Read more...
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 Ajax; Guelph; North Toronto, Toronto; Online
A unique summer experience, Where Sports Meets Education and campers get to engage in both STEM Learning & Basketball or Soccer Development. Each week we offer a unique experience for continued growth and engagement. Read more...
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 Thornhill; Scarborough Village, Toronto
Canada’s leading Robotics, Coding and Game Design club. Our program is different and unique as we combine robotics and game/animation design to teach students Entrepreneurship Skills and Artificial Intelligence. Read more...
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An academically enriched university experience for students in grades 5 to 12 focussing on unique courses, living in residence, and campus life. Come and experience your future! Read more...
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 Richmond Hill; Online
Camp for creative girls and boys who love science, technology, robotics, and design projects. Our kids learn while they experiment, invent, digitally fabricate, and build things with their hands. Read more...
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 COVID-19 alert: Temporarily closed Parry Sound
Small Camp, Big Adventure! Located near Parry Sound, we are a world away from the city and the perfect place for your child to learn leadership while enjoying traditional camp fun in a welcoming and inclusive environment Read more...
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 Markham
We specialize in providing a holistic solution for children's science and technology innovation, we have 27 patents for robots and maker products, providing a wild range of educational products for different age groups. Read more...
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 Vancouver; Yorkville, Toronto
Learn technology, critical thinking and the design process through game-making. For children who are ready to be creators and teens who are thinking about careers in technology, game design engages and educates. Read more...
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 Oakville
Innovative programming with a focus on STEM. Summer camp, after school, birthdays and more. Courses for all ages in coding, game design, circuitry, toy engineering, the arts, VR, robotics, 3D printing, cooking and more! Read more...
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 Danforth Village, Toronto; Wychwood Park, Toronto; West Toronto Junction, Toronto; Online
Educational Fun! 40+ schools, 5 camps in GTA. Small-size camps, girl-friendly curriculum. STEM and Coding camps include: Game Makers, Toy Makers, Slime Makers, Movie Makers, App Makers, Doll Makers and Space Makers. Read more...
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 Harbourfront, Toronto; Online
BrainTech Robotics offers experiential camp & year round STEM based virtual/augmented reality programs for youth 7-17 years of age to develop skills in technology, robotics, coding and virtual / augmented reality. Read more...
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 Ottawa; Online
Three exceptional summer courses for high school students interested in architecture, design, and building a portfolio. Read more...
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 St. Michael's College School Summer Camps Forest Hill, Toronto; Online
The SMCS Summer Experience provides youth with exciting academic, athletic, and artistic outlets, as well as opportunities to learn and grow within a fun and interactive environment. Please visit: www.smcscamps.com Read more...
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Maker camps offer programming similar to STEM curriculum but add practical tech interests (ranging from robotics to coding to design) as well as craft materials. Makerspace camps tend to emphasize collaboration and can be thought of as more workshop-oriented than other technology camps. Some are associated with major corporations such as Intel and others.
The advantage of maker camps may seem obvious in our increasingly technology-oriented world, but here's a close look at some reasons to dive into a maker kids camp:
Addition of a social element. While technologically-oriented kids may delight in making things on their own, makerspace summer camps add the benefit of collaboration, comparison, presentation and communication (among other things). Growth in these critical soft skills gives kids an edge in social situations, and in job skills as they look at future career paths.
Curriculum is created by experts. Maker camps in major cities are often associated with universities and/or corporate sponsors. Teen makers can always work on independent projects, but the discipline instilled through professionally-developed curriculum gives them needed guidance in understanding a practical application of makerspace learning.
They meet kids from elsewhere in their area. Kids at any summer camp form friendships and connections that can last a long time into the future. Some Toronto maker camps are attended by kids from countries around the world, in fact. This is an extension of camps' ability to help kids grow in social skills and form early connections to others with similar interests. They might indeed form collaborative connections that may extend far into the future and be fruitful in ways that parents and instructors cannot anticipate.
Maker camps are part of a rapidly expanding universe of technology camps focused on helping kids develop skills they will use well into the future. Their practical-oriented curriculum has implications for the development of an entrepreneurial bent, and career choices, etc. these camps might be thought of as oriented toward older kids, related to robotics and other technology camps and targeted toward older kids who may have previously attended Lego or Minecraft camps.
Parents navigating their way through these options or descriptions need to work closely with their kids and with camps listed below to note which camps most closely match their needs and expectations.
