Virtual Summer Camps for Kids

The kids have cabin fever, and so do you.

Keep everybody occupied, interested and even learning, with these FREE and cheap virtual summer camps, including online dance classes, museum field trips, arts and crafts and more.

Programs are age-specific, for kids and teens 4-18.

We’re listing the FREE programs first, then the cheap ones.

NY Public Library

All summer long, The New York Public Library is supporting kids and families with all-new, hands-on activities, FREE and available to everyone, even if you don’t have an NYPL library card.

There’s a different set of programs each week, with new activities to download and work on during the week, focused around a theme to help you on your summer Quest for Adventure, with goals to set.

For further inspiration, there are videos from NYPL librarians and staff posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Plus, don’t miss the Library’s fantastic online programs, storytimes, and read-alouds, as well as fresh reading recommendations every Sunday. Join us as we encourage kids everywhere to discover their strengths.

Each NYPL Summer Camp program is age specific –

Pre-K–Grade 2
Grades 3–5
Middle School & Up

Get more information here.

American Museum of Natural History

AMNH has launched FREE virtual field trips. Not exactly summer camp, but these tours are what school kids would be doing if the museum were open now.

Virtual Field Trips are based on virtual hall tours of galleries on Google Arts and Culture and allow students to locate, view, and explore specific exhibits, complete a core Student Investigation, and engage in extension activities like reading and writing tasks based on the exhibits explored.

Get more information here.

Hudson River Park

This summer, HRPK is offering a FREE six-week online summer camp program from July 14 through August 18, with programs for students ages 5 to 14.

Budding scientists of all ages are introduced to a unique theme and series of projects. HRPK has designed our activities and experiments around common household objects or items that are easily accessible and low cost.

There are live lessons on Tuesdays, with dynamic demonstrations and Q&A to help students progress through the week’s lesson. Don’t worry if you miss the live feed, since the videos are posted these videos online later that day for you to watch whenever it’s convenient.

River Ranger Camp

The River Rangers curriculum is geared toward students ages 5-9
Live Sessions held weekly at 1 pm

STEM Explorers Camp

STEM Explorers is designed for students ages 10-14
Live sessions held weekly at 2 pm

The curriculum schedule is as follows: Week 1, July 14: Introduction to the Hudson River

Week 2, July 21: Plankton
Week 3, July 28: Fish
Week 4, August 4: Butterflies
Week 5, August 11: Birds
Week 6, August 18: Pollution Solutions

Register here for the HRPK Virtual Summer Camp programs

Rosetta Stone

The language learning site is offering a FREE three-month, no-cost subscription for students who either attended a school that is closed as a result of COVID-19 or are homeschooled.

Language offerings include Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Chinese, or English.

Camp PBS Kids

The people who brought the world Sesame Street and Super WHY have things to do online every day.

Camp PBS Kids activities keep everyone busy and learning, including with FREE printables for screen-free time.

Camp Wonderopolis^®

This is is a FREE online summer-learning destination that focuses on interactive STEM and literacy-building topics boosted by Maker experiments.

Camp Wonderopolis campers can have fun while expanding knowledge in science, reading comprehension, critical thinking, and other literacy skills along the way.

Virtual Summer Camps That are Not Free

Harlem School of the Arts

The Harlem Summer Arts Experience is a four-week virtual camp that transports young artists ages 5-18 to the Harlem Renaissance, July 6-31, with programs in art and design, ballet and contemporary dance, music and theater.

Children are invited to sing, dance, act and design while immersing themselves in the creative history of this influential movement in African American history, which began in the 1920s.

From Katherine Dunham to Langston Hughes, to Ella Fitzgerald to Jacob Lawrence, children will explore the culture and stories of the 20th centuries leading dancers, singers, actors and visual artists. Through cross-disciplinary artistic and cultural instruction, Harlem Summer Arts Experience bridges the gap between the 1920s and today to inspire young leaders of tomorrow.

The program is two one-hour classes a week for four weeks, July 6-31. Cost is $160 for the month, which works out to $20 a class

Register here .

Summer in the Cloud

Three longtime popular on-site summer camps have joined forces to offer online experiences instead, for kids across the five boroughs, Westchester and Long Island, in cooperation with the JCC community.

Camp Twelve Trails, New Country Day Camp, and Camp Settoga are offering weekly programs through August 21, for campers entering Kindergarten to 6th grade.

Each camp day features a balance of camp-specific gatherings and elective-based choices for campers. Each day will begin with a camp-specific Boker Tov/Flagpole/Community gathering as an opportunity to maintain the connection within each specific camp. Campers then go to their choice of activities and get to know campers from all over the NY area, while building skills and having a great experience in the electives of their choice.

Each day will end with a camp-specific gathering and good-bye activity. Each week will conclude with a camps-wide community Shabbat celebration, where we will highlight special moments from the week and look ahead to the many special moments to come. Shabbat celebrations will be a mix of singing and dancing and storytelling, and maybe even include some special guests.

Prices are: