I was at the pool the other day and I had not one, not two, but three moms ask me about summer camp ideas. Thanks to my up close and personal relationship with the Art&Seek calendar I’ve been the designated the Camp Whisperer by all my mommy friends. Finding summer camps for the kiddos is a popular topic–we know because we covered it last week! This is definitely a subject worth repeating, so here’s part deux of our fabulous camps picks.

Photo: shutterstock.com

Art

If your mini Monet is eager to jump into the deep end of the art-making pool check out Irving Arts Center’s Summer of ’17 Peace, Love & Art Adventure Camps. Kids can experience 14 groovy adventures in visual arts, theater, music and creative writing all summer long. Coming up is the awesome Across the Universe Multi-Arts Camp for kids ages 6-12. During the week long run campers will focus on 5 classic topics. They’ll paint a mural, study and experiment Op Art, create a pop-up book, launch a ’60s style space race, and get hands-on time and instruction with the violin.

Introduce your child to the watery wonderful world of Impressionism with Masquerading Monet, an art class for kids in grades 4 through 6. The 2 1/2 hour class that happens at Artists’ Showplace Gallery meets for 5 consecutive days and will delve into the history of Impressionism, its unique style, and the characteristics of Claude Monet’s paintings. Kids will use acrylics and other mediums, students to create their own interpretations of the artist’s work. Supplies are included.

Does your teen love making short films with their iPhones? If the answer is yes, then point your budding Fellini towards the Dallas Center for Photography’s Video Camp for Teens. Kids in grades 9-12 will be immersed into the world of film-making in this 5-day camp. They’ll learn the basics of cinematography which includes collaboration in directing, storyboarding, interviewing, lighting, and editing. On the final day of the camp, the indi-filmmakers will present their finished films in a screening for family and friends.

Photo: Dallas Children’s Theater

Theater

Got a budding thespian? The Art Centre Theatre located in West Plano has a wide variety of theater camps for all ages. One of the best is their Beauty and Beast camp. Kiddos learn the ropes about what it takes to put on a play and everyone is given speaking and/or singing roles. The 2-week camp culminates with a live performance for friends and family.

Kids ages 12-18 can find their voice and learn the fine art of spoken word poetry this Saturday at the Writer’s Garret Slam Camp. Through interactive exercises, writing prompts and modeling, students get a firsthand look at how to create performance poems, then travel via DART rail to perform at pre-selected venues.

Dallas Children’s Theater is offering the Blue Pegasus Players, a drama camp for teens with autism, Asperger syndrome, Down syndrome and other sensory processing disorders and special needs. Kids ages 13-17 will have the opportunity to work with DCT professionals using theater techniques to enhance creativity in each student.

Photo: Dallas Arboretum

Nature and Science

The littles can go buggy at Texas Discovery Garden’s Bug Camp. Kids ages 4 and 5 will have fun learning all about arthropods and make friends with six, eight, and hundred-legged friends. The camp also includes a field trip to the Children’s Aquarium. Kids in the 4th and 5th grade won’t want to miss From the Land to Sea with the Children’s Aquarium Camp. They’ll spend 3 days at the Texas Discovery Garden learning about all the creatures that live there, and then spend 2 days at the Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park exploring the underwater world. Best of all, this camp includes a sleepover on Thursday night at the aquarium.

The Rory Meyers Children’s Garden at the Dallas Arboretum has a boatload of neato-torpedo science-based camps that will get the kids better acquainted with Mother Nature. Don’t miss their Storybook Science Camp where favorite fairytales come to life and little kiddles explore the science behind the story. Campers will build a house that will stand up to the big bad wolf, save a forest like the Lorax, investigate optical illusions and more.

If you’re looking for even more camps in the DFW area, take a gander at the Art&Seek Jr special summer camp theme. You’ll find plenty of ideas for summer fun.