Why is the sky blue if the sun is bright orange? What happens if I pour my orange juice into milk? How can fish breathe in that dirty lake water? Do these questions sound familiar?
If your Chicago child is curious, Kids Science Labs summer camp is where their curiosity comes to life — and it’s a top Chicago STEM camps for hands-on learning.
At Kids Science Labs, the world is their laboratory, ”where they’ll build STEM superpowers by innovating new gadgets with everyday materials, explore basic chemistry and even smash open Xboxes, all to satisfy kids’ curiosity about how the world works.”
Who will love this camp?
Curiosity drives discovery, and at Kids Science Labs, every child has the chance to explore their interests through hands-on learning. Co-founder and CEO Shegan Campbell explains that curious kids tend to fall into one of four categories:
- Mixers: always experimenting with combinations of colors, ingredients, and liquid materials to understand volcanoes and fizzing reactions
- Builders: engineers-in-the-making who love designing, constructing and testing how things work
- Adventure Seekers: Adventure Seekers: kids who love to imagine, dream, and explore, while pushing the boundaries of discovery
- Thinkers: always asking “why” and “how,” eager to understand the world around them
Each day at camp, kids rotate through five key activities:
- Innovation class: designing and building projects and myth busting
- Discovery science: hands-on experiments that apply real-world concepts
- Art and creativity: fostering out-of-the-box thinking (KSL is one of the very few STEM camps that also features creativity!)
- Outdoor experience: because science happens everywhere
- Leadership games: building confidence, communication and teamwork skills
This summer, campers can choose from exciting weekly themes like Iike ChemBusters, where they explore mythbusting chemical reactions, and Gadgets & Inventions, where they design and create their own working devices.
What do parents need to know?
- Ages: 4 to 12
- Locations: Roscoe Village, North Shore (Northbrook), and the South Loop
- Duration: 12 weeks, from the second week of June through the end of August
- Schedule:
- Full-day camps: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Campers can arrive at 8:30)
- Extended-day option: until 5 p.m.
- Half-day option: available at the Northbrook location
- Flexibility: Families can enroll for one week or multiple sessions — there’s no minimum. “We have a program that lets parents plug in, whether it’s for a full summer or just two weeks in August,” Campbell says.
- Hands-on learning: Kids take home projects and experiments they create.
Why is curiosity so important?
At Kids Science Labs, curiosity isn’t just encouraged—it’s essential. Hands-on exploration builds skills that benefit kids far beyond summer camp, including:
- Growth mindset: “If you can’t work through a problem, it’s really difficult to excel academically,” says Campbell. “Giving kids hands-on science when they’re young allows them to work through challenges on their own.”
- Confidence and problem-solving skills: Campers learn by doing, which builds resilience and critical thinking.
- Real-world application: Kids don’t just learn theories — they test, build, and experiment in ways that make learning stick.
- STEM engagement for all kids, especially girls: “About half of our student population are girls,” says Campbell. “That’s highly unusual for anybody in the STEM space. And we’re able to do that because we start so young — at 4, 5 and 6.”
- Curiosity that lasts beyond summer: Campbell says parents are used to getting one-word answers when they ask about their child’s day, but after camp, the conversation changes. “Kids come home genuinely excited, saying, ‘I built a circuit today—watch what happens when I touch metal!’”
By the end of camp, kids walk away with more than just fun memories—they gain confidence, problem-solving skills, and a lifelong love of learning. Find out more about Kids Science Labs summer camps and register today.
This content is sponsored by Kids Science Labs. Learn more and register your child at kidssciencelabs.com.
