Baltimore’s Child held its annual Summer Camps & Activities Fair on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Towson Town Center.
In case you missed it, here are our highlights, including what’s new, noteworthy or not-to-miss about this year’s camps, schools and organizations in attendance.
Baltimore Lab School
It’s the 25th summer of camp for Baltimore Lab School, which offers day camps with an academic focus. Because the school is focused on supporting students with dyslexia, ADHD and other learning disabilities in its full-time program, its summer camps are a great option for these students. But campers do not have to have a diagnosed learning disability to participate. The camp will help any student improve executive functioning skills through fun, hands-on activities like cooking. The school serves first through 12th grades with small group instruction, integrated supports, counseling, occupational and speech therapy. baltimorelabschool.org
Note: Baltimore Lab School will have an open house for its camp and full-time program March 12.
CCBC
The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) has the benefit of offering summer programs in multiple disciplines across four different campuses (Dundalk, Catonsville, Essex and Owings Mills). For example, kids ages 12 to 17 can take part in the Young Investors Club or learn engineering skills through Minecraft. YouTube Content Creators is a course for ages 8 to 11 and 12 to 15 to learn about branding, on-camera presence and editing skills.
Find new courses this year in cooking, Spanish and Teen Career Pathways, which offers career exploration for ages 12 to 17 in law, skilled trades, hospitality, emergency services and more. ccbcmd.edu/For/Parents/pages/Summer-Youth-Classes.html
Downtown Sailing Center
New this year at Downtown Sailing Center is a four-week racing program for intermediate sailors ages 12 to 16 who have passed the center’s keelboat exam. Keelboats have a lower center of gravity, which helps prevent capsizing and make it a great boat for learning sailing. Staff at Downtown Sailing Center are CPR and first aid -certified, as well as keepboat-certified, making the center one of the few in the area that offers a keelboat exam for learners.
Downtown Sailing also has a beginner program for ages 8 to 16, so the racing program is a next step for campers who have passed their exam through that program. In the racing program, campers will learn skills used in regattas – competitive sailboat racing events. downtownsailing.org/camp
Eastern Watersports
For the first time this summer, Eastern Watersports, which has traditionally held weeklong summer camps based around water sports such as sailing, kayaking and paddleboarding, will also partner with schools and outside programs to host other camps. While guest camps won’t have the full program they would receive at Eastern Watersports camps, campers would be able to take a field trip to Gunpowder State Park and get a taste of water sports for the day, or enjoy fun activities like water trampoline. For schools, it offers a unique opportunity to also provide an educational element.
“We can fit into that simply because we’re in the water,” says Linda DePalo, the mother of the camp’s owner Philip DePalo. Camp staff will be able to talk about environmental science topics like tidal plans and human impact on the water, she says. easternwatersports.com/summer-camp
ESF Camps
Founded in 1982, ESF Camps have partnered with Gilman School since 1994 to host summer camps on their campus. Day camp for ages 3 to 14 iincludes arts and crafts, science, daily instructional swimming for most ages and sports, but ESF Camps also has multisport camps and other specialty camps like STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) camps. Families can choose one type of camp or mix weeks with a variety of camps–some of which have special events on certain weeks. esfcamps.com/gilman
Note: There will be camp tour dates in March and April; see website for updates
Glenelg Country School – Summer in the Country
There are a variety of camps for students in pre-K to 10th grade at Summer in the Country, from traditional day camps to adventure and specialty camps. Among new program offerings this year are mentorship camps for boys (Rising SONS) and girls (Lead-HER-Ship), girls’ lacrosse and a co-ed international sports camp that offers kids a chance to learn a new sport every day, including sports like rugby and cricket. glenelg.org/summer
Kennedy Krieger Institute Therapeutic Foster Care Program
Also scheduled to appear at the camp fair but unable to attend was Kennedy Krieger’s Therapeutic Foster Care Program. Uniquely positioned to serve children with trauma, emotional or behavioral challenges, disabilities and medically complex conditions, Kennedy Krieger has a program in place that supports families who are interested in becoming treatment or respite parents for children with these conditions.
This summer, Kennedy Krieger is seeking more parents to join the program! These parents help provide stability and love for children until they are reunited with their families adopted or transition to independent living. KennedyKrieger.org/TFC
Lutherville Music School
Summertime at Lutherville Music School means focused camps that help kids improve skills on their instrument or maybe even learn an additional instrument. One unique offering is Flute Camp (which is $100 off for students of Janet Muller), dedicated entirely to the flute, a more rare find among summer camps. Lutherville Music School also has Piano Camp and three rock-based camps this summer.
Baltimore Rock Fest is for campers who want to to dig even deeper into musical experience. Born from a partnership with Tobias Hurwitz, who has been running music rock camps in the Baltimore area since the 1990s, this two-week camp for ages 7 to 16 has been going strong for 30 years and includes songwriting, lessons in your instrument, musical guests, clinics, games and contests. It holds the title of first rock camp in Baltimore. Families can sign up for one or both weeks! luthervillemusicschool.com/camps
Note: Lutherville Music School also has workshops throughout the year, including “I Don’t Know the Chords, What Do I Do?!” March 14 to learn how to join in on group jams and a bass techniques workshop March 28.
Port Discovery
Baltimore’s children’s museum is back with its popular two-week program for ages 4 to 9 for the fourth year in a row–with new themes.
Week 1 (Aug. 10-14) is Circus Silliness for ages 4 to 6, in which kids can learn plate spinning, scarf juggling, basic tumbling and put together a circus show. Greg May, a former Ringling Brothers performer and former Port Discovery staff member, often drops by the museum for a visit – and definitely helped inspire the program. Kids ages 7 to 9 will learn about how to make school supplies, accessories and other usable art.
Week 2 (Aug. 17-21) focuses on superhero and supervillain training to solve mysteries using science for ages 4 to 6, and traveling back in time to exciting moments in history for ages 7 to 9.
All programs utilize the museum’s exhibits and exhibit-related activities to boost learning and fun. portdiscovery.org/visit/programs-events/summercamp
School of Rock Pikesville
Last year, School of Rock – Pikesville celebrated its first year of classes and summer camp, and now has grown from two summer camps to six camps in 2026! For the youngest learners, the Rookies (ages 5-7) and Rock 101 (ages 7-12) programs help beginners explore different musical instruments with no experience necessary. Other camps include Pop Legends, Classic Rock Camp, Green Day Camp and Taylor Swift Camp, all for ages 8 to 18. Though campers definitely benefit with more experience in these camps, they are still accessible to beginners, who are able to focus on songs according to their skill levels. schoolofrock.com/music-camps
Science Guys of Baltimore
This science-focused summer experience is offered at multiple locations in the Baltimore region, with its two newest locations at Loyola University Maryland and Brown Memorial in Bolton Hill still growing. Day camp with the Science Guys involves three to four experiments each day, themed games and relationship building.
“Our Science Guys have such a big personality, so they bring a lot to it,” says Abby Ricko, operations manager for the program. scienceguysofbaltimore.com/summercamp
STAGES Music Arts
This Cockeysville-based music school offers camps in a variety of themes each summer, with new themes each year. For 2026, there is a new K-Pop camp program, while other popular programs like Taylor Swift camp are back for another summer. These camps tend to be more vocal-centric, but for those who play an instrument or want to learn, there are many camps that focus on multiple instruments will no experience required to sign up. Campers will learn in a typical rock band setup, having creative control over songs and learning to collaborate, listen and respond as a team. stagesmusicarts.com
Summer at Friends
Back again this summer with a variety of camps including traditional day camps and specialty camps like Robots & Rockets, Builders & Makers and Sports Camp, Summer at Friends brings summer options for families on the Friends School campus in Baltimore.
New this year is Junior+ camp, which is specifically for students transitioning from kindergarten to first grade in the fall. Director of Programs Steve Cusick partnered with first grade teachers to find out what would most benefit young learners transitioning to elementary school. friendsbalt.org/community/summer-at-friends
Thanks for joining us at our 2026 camp fair! To learn more about summer camps, visit our online directory at baltimoreschild.com/campdirectory.
All photos by Lindsay C. VanAsdalan
