All clay pieces created during camp will be fired and ready for pick up at the museum two weeks following the end of camp.

Camps for Ages 6-9

Cost: $190 non-members/$180 members

Building Our World
Sculpt your own imagined community out of clay. Get inspired by the museum’s Our World exhibit, then build a home, creatures and friends playing their favorite games by using slabs, coils and pinching. Decorate your creations with colorful slips.
     June 12-15 (M-Th), 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Wild and Wonderful Landscapes
Explore and create insects, animals and plants found in the museum’s Nature Remix experience in the Imaginopolis exhibit. Use handbuilding techniques to create objects at different scales and decorate them using colorful slips. Let your imagination run free as you create your own story of the natural world.
     June 12-15 (M-Th), 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

Garden Critters 
Get your hands dirty as you help your garden grow! Learn coiling, pinching and slab-building techniques as you create sculptures for a garden, taking inspiration from the museum’s Tip Top Terrace exhibit. Create a flowerpot and a toad/fairy/gnome house. Decorate your creations with colorful slips.
     July 10-13 (M-Th), 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Musical Clay
Create your own clay instruments! Explore the museum’s Tip Top Terrace exhibit for inspiration and warm up your musical skills. Coil and pinch a series of creative clay shakers, chimes and bells, then decorate them with colorful designs that show the rhythm of the music they make.
     July 10-13 (M-Th), 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

Waiver Form

All campers must have a completed waiver form by the first day of class. The form can be found here. If the form has not been completes before the first day of camp, you will be required to do during check in.

Camp Location

Minnesota Children’s Museum
10 W. Seventh St.
St. Paul, MN 55102

Google Maps

Check-in

Check-in will be inside the main entrance on West 7th Street. You may temporarily park your vehicle in the loading/unloading zone in front of the main entrance. Metered parking or the World Trade Center parking ramp are also options. Note that the skyway leading into the museum is closed on Mondays.

Campers should check in no earlier than 15 minutes prior to the start of camp (8:45 a.m. for morning sessions and 12:45 p.m. for afternoon sessions). An adult must be present with any camper that arrives earlier.

Campers must be signed in by an adult each day. If you have not filled out the required forms electronically before the first day of camp, you will be required to do so when you arrive.

Check-Out

Campers can be checked-out inside the main entrance on West 7th Street. You may temporarily park your vehicle in the loading/unloading zone in front of the main entrance. Metered parking or the World Trade Center parking ramp are also options. Note that the skyway leading into the museum is closed on Mondays.

An adult must pick-up and sign out the camper each day. Campers will only be released to an authorized adult after they have been signed out.

Campers should be picked up promptly at the end of class (12 p.m. for morning sessions and 4 p.m. for afternoon sessions). Please call 651-225-6056 if you are going to be late. If your camper is not picked up within 15 minutes of the end of class and you have not contacted the museum, emergency contacts will be contacted.

Absences

Please inform the museum if your child is going to miss a class. There are no make-up sessions.

Snack

Campers take a short break each day, so please pack a snack for your child in a labeled the bag. If your child is signed up for both the morning and afternoon camp, please pack two snacks. No refrigeration or warming options are available.

Lunch

Campers who are signed up for both the morning and afternoon camp will be supervised by Minnesota Children’s Museum staff between sessions. Please pack a lunch for your child. No refrigeration or warming options are available.

Dress for Mess

Camps are designed to be hands-on and interactive, so your child may get messy. Campers should wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Tennis shoes are best; no open-toe shoes. All camp tools and materials are provided by Northern Clay Center, unless otherwise specified.

Project Pick-Up

After the completion of camp, projects will be fired. Completed projects can be picked up two weeks after the end of camp. Minnesota Children’s Museum will email you when projects are ready to be picked up.

Projects will be held at Minnesota Children’s Museum for four weeks. Anything left after this date will be disposed of. If you are not able to pick up your child’s projects by this time, please make arrangements for someone else to pick them up.

Cancellation Policy

Camps that do not meet the minimum enrollment requirements will be canceled. Campers will be alerted of cancelations one week prior to the beginning of camp and offered their choice of alternatives or a refund.

Refund Policy

If a camper cancels for any reason up to one week (seven days) before the camp begins, 100% of tuition, minus a $15 cancellation fee, will be refunded. A $15 transfer fee will be charged if a camper transfers from one class to another at any time. No refunds or transfers will be issued with less than one week (seven days) notice before the beginning of the camp. Tuition is not pro-rated. There are no make-up sessions.

View the 2023 Summer Camp Schedule-at-a-Glance

PreK Camps

For children entering kindergarten or High Five programs in Fall 2023

Cost: $225 non-members / $202.50 members

Make It Superpowered
Machines give us superpowers! Lift mighty objects with a crane, use levers to leap tall buildings, move at super speeds with wheels and axels and even make a force field.
     June 26-29(M-Th), 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
     Aug. 14-17 (M-Th), 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Make it Cool with Tools
Work with hammers and drills, as well as a variety of cool tools that squish, cut and connect things.
     July 17-20 (M-Th), 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Make It Squishy
Create and test messy mixtures such as cloud dough. Make a balloon yo-yo and other squishy projects.
     July 31-Aug. 3 (M-Th), 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Camps for Ages 6-8

6-year-old campers must have completed kindergarten

Cost: $225 non-members / $202.50 members

Lego Engineering  Waitlist Only
Build elevators, wind-up cars and catapults with specialty LEGO pieces. Explore with gears, pulleys and other moving parts.
     June 19-22 (M-Th), 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Crash Test Contraptions
Design, build and test different kinds of vehicles to see how they handle a collision. Experiment with crash-proof packaging, then test it out on water balloons.
     June 19-22 (M-Th), 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

Fling and Fly
Investigate how things move through air as you construct mini-catapults, flying saucers, rockets and more.
     June 26-29 (M-Th), 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

Artistry in Motion
Construct tools, machines and materials for creating art, including an electric doodle bot, a spin-art machine and more.
     July 17-20 (M-Th), 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
     Aug. 21-24 (M-Th), 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Junior Robotics
Explore robotics concepts through games, wiring and building. Make a maze for BeeBots and program them to navigate it. Design and wire your own robot to bring home.
     July 24-27 (M-Th), 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
     July 31-Aug. 3 (M-Th), 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

Astroneers Waitlist Only
Build and test simple rockets to learn the basics of flight and propulsion. Discover what it takes to live in space. Participate in a simulated space mission and construct survival items you would need.
     July 24-27 (M-Th), 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

A Day in the Life: Junior Engineers
Try your hand at different engineering jobs. Each day will focus on a different field of engineering. Wire a flashlight (electrical), construct a propeller car (mechanical), design a bridge (architectural) and much more!
     Aug. 7-10 (M-Th), 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Critter Carpentry
Practice your woodworking skills to build a hedgehog friend using a hammer and nails. Learn about sawing, sanding and drilling, then create wooden creatures with wiggly arms and legs.
     Aug. 7-10 (M-Th), 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

Mini Golf Construction
Learn about how to build sturdy structures. Design and build your own mini golf hole and club. Put your design together to create a mini golf course and play a round of golf with fellow campers.
     Aug. 14-17 (M-Th), 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

Engineering for Animals Waitlist Only
Engineer adaptive equipment for animals who are injured or have a disability. Design a way to rescue a pet from a tree. Make pet toys to bring home to the animals in your life.
     Aug. 21-24 (M-Th), 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

Waiver Form

All campers must have a completed waiver form by the first day of class. The form can be found here. If the form has not been completes before the first day of camp, you will be required to do during check in.

Camp Location

Minnesota Children’s Museum
10 W. Seventh St.
St. Paul, MN 55102

Google Maps

Check-in

Check-in will be inside the main entrance on West 7th Street. You may temporarily park your vehicle in the loading/unloading zone in front of the main entrance. Metered parking or the World Trade Center parking ramp are also options. Note that the skyway leading into the museum is closed on Mondays.

Campers should check in no earlier than 30 minutes prior to the start of camp (8:30 a.m. for morning sessions and 12:30 p.m. for afternoon sessions). An adult must be present with any camper that arrives earlier.

Campers must be signed in by an adult each day. If you have not filled out the required forms electronically before the first day of camp, you will be required to do so when you arrive.

Check-Out

Campers can be checked-out inside the main entrance on West 7th Street. You may temporarily park your vehicle in the loading/unloading zone in front of the main entrance. Metered parking or the World Trade Center parking ramp are also options. Note that the skyway leading into the museum is closed on Mondays.

An adult must pick-up and sign out the camper each day. Campers will only be released to an authorized adult after they have been signed out.

Campers should be picked up promptly at the end of class (12 p.m. for morning sessions and 4 p.m. for afternoon sessions). Please call 651-225-6056 if you are going to be late. If your camper is not picked up within 15 minutes of the end of class and you have not contacted the museum, emergency contacts will be contacted.

Absences

Please inform the museum if your child is going to miss a class. There are no make-up sessions.

Snack

Campers take a short break each day, so please pack a snack for your child in a labeled the bag. If your child is signed up for both the morning and afternoon camp, please pack two snacks. No refrigeration or warming options are available.

Lunch

Campers who are signed up for both the morning and afternoon camp will be supervised by Minnesota Children’s Museum staff between sessions. Please pack a lunch for your child. No refrigeration or warming options are available.

Cancellation Policy

Camps that do not meet the minimum enrollment requirements will be canceled and campers will be offered their choice of alternatives or a 100% refund.

Refund Policy

Please read The Works Museum’s camp refund policy prior to registering.