While on the hunt for the most fun summer camps for my kids, I kept returning to The Durham Museum summer camps list. There are so many to choose from! There are 27 camps there this summer, and they’re all so different from any place else in Omaha. I’ve partnered with The Durham Museum to tell you about them.

Choosing Camp

From time travel to wizardry to spies, there are some super fun themes for summer camps at The Durham Museum. There’s even Meet the Metr’O’ camps, where kids visit things like a courthouse to meet a judge and the First National Bank Tower to get a sky-high view of the city. Check all the summer camps out here.

I had a hard time figuring which camps my 7-year-old would love best. He is really into history, which is perfect for all of the camps at the museum – camps combine history and science for a balance that turns out to be fun and educational. I’m told they strike a perfect chord for summer – kids have so much fun, they don’t realize they’re learning.

Some of the popular camps at The Durham Museum include Mischief Managed, a wizardry camp that will surely appeal to the “Harry Potter” fans of Omaha; Lego Apprentice, Lego Builder, and Lego Master, camps for the three age groups that are focused on building; and the camp tied with the summer exhibit at the museum, Top Secret, will likely be popular.

New Camps At The Durham Museum

The Durham Museum has added some unique new camps this summer. I think Road Trip! sounds fun. Without leaving the museum, kids will imagine themselves on a Nebraska adventure. It’s great timing for the state’s 150th celebration.

There’s also a camp called History With Heroes, blending learning about superheroes and real life heroes. The museum is also trying out a camp that’s going to feel like the traditional outdoor summer camp, again without leaving the museum. Think, “campfire” with s’mores kinds of stuff.

What Makes Durham Camps Different

 

Teachers – What impressed me about The Durham Museum summer camps is that they’re all taught by certified, practicing teachers, who also create the camp curriculum. The camps also have what’s called summer facilitators, who assist in the summer camps and many are studying to become educators.

One-Day Camps – Here’s the conundrum for working parents: What do you do with holiday weeks where no place in Omaha is offering week-long camps then, but you still have to work most of those days? The museum has created day-long camps for each day of those holiday weeks (Memorial Day and Fourth of July). Kids can go to just one all-day camp or all four that week (there’s a discount if you sign up for all four).

Variety – Very few camps are repeated in the summer. Many parents working downtown sign their children up for summer camps at the museum all summer long and never have repeated week. There are 27 camps in all.

Extended Hours – The museum offers “Beyond the Camp” Experience, which is before care and after care with planned games and activities with camp staff. It’s such a huge help for me, when my work day starts well before 9 a.m. camp does. Full-day campers also have supervision during the lunch hour, and they get the added perk of having the option of purchasing lunch (they can also bring a sack lunch).

Age Groups – The Durham Museum summer camps are divided by grade levels, so the camp content suits the abilities of the campers all the time. Camps are available for Grades 1-2, Grade 3-4, and Grades 5-6. Note: This is for the grade level kids will be entering in the 2017-2018 school year.

Ready For Durham Museum Summer Camp?

Where: The Durham Museum, 801 S. 10th St.

Cost: Half-Day Week, $80/members and $90/non-members; Full-Day Week, $160/members and $180/non-members; Summer Fun Days (full-day camp), $40/Day or $140/four days for members and $45/day or $160/four days for non-members; Meet The Metr’O’ (weeklong, full-day), $170/members and $190/non-members.
“Beyond The Camp” Experience: $15/day or $60/week

Register:

Online at Durham.org

Call 402-444-5027

Email [email protected]

Write The Durham Museum, Education Dept., 801 S. 10th St., Omaha, NE 68108

Fax 402-444-5397, Attn: Education Dept.

 

Disclosure: I received a complimentary camp registration in compensation for writing this post.

 

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