There's 104 days of summer vacation ...

[You can also read and share this post on Geekadelphia.com]

There's 104 days of summer vacation ... and if you have as "many" vacation days as the average American, this means that for 99 of these days you will need child care. But as my 7-year old just informed me, spending the summer in his former preschool with his siblings is no longer sufficient. "Summers are not just for fun, you need to make time to learn something, too!" Before you marvel at the enthusiasm for learning that schools are able to instill nowadays, let me say that his one and only intention was to get signed up for 4 weeks of soccer camp. Out on a field from 9am-2pm in what with 96.7% likelihood will be 130 degree weather. Sorry buddy, but I don't think so.

However, I realized that there could be more to summer camp than someone supervising my child, so I set out to find some summer programs worthy of geek approval. Here is what I found, roughly sorted by geography. If you know of other hidden gems, please leave a link in the comments section!

Giant Heart at The Franklin Institute

Philadelphia

The Franklin Institute
website: https://www.fi.edu/summer-camp
Geek Credentials: It's The Franklin Institute!

Penn Museum
website: http://www.penn.museum/kids-and-family/anthropologists-in-the-making-summer-camp.html
Geek Credentials: Anthropology, behind-the-scenes museum visits, scavenger hunts

Geek Squad Summer Academy
website: http://www.summercamplive.com/geek-squad-summer-academy.html
Geek Credentials: PC Build and programming

Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University
website: http://www.ansp.org/get-involved/programs/family-programs/summer-camp/
Geek Credentials: Dinosaurs, Bigfoot, behind the scenes at the museum, live animals
Read a short review on Geekadephia.com

Drexel University:
website: http://www.digitalmediaacademy.org/locations/kids-teens-locations/drexel-university/?gclid=CMH6lYq0oL4CFaZlOgod1yUA9g
Geek Credentials: Robotics, film-making and special effects, programming, photography and graphic design and more

Western Philly suburbs

Villanova University
Location: Villanova
website: http://www.idtech.com/locations/pennsylvania-summer-camps/villanova/id-tech-villanova-university/
Geek Credentials: programming and video game design

Bricks4Kidz
Locations: Devon, Spring City, Phoenixville, Oaks, King of Prussia, Eagleville
website: www.bricks4kidz.com/kop
Geek Credentials: Lego camp with topics such as "Angry Birdies/Bad Piglets", "Animated movie-making" and "Robotics"

Valley Forge National Historic Park and Franklin Institute
Location: Valley Forge / King of Prussia
website: https://www.fi.edu/discovery-camp-valley-forge
Geek Credentials: the science behind historical battles, ecosystems and natural resources

Chesterbrook Academy
Locations: West Chester and Oaks
website: http://westchester.chesterbrookacademy.com/page.cfm?p=19646
Geek Credentials: Half day or full day Technology Camp with activities in mechanical engineering, video game design and animation work-shop

Great Valley Nature Center
Location: Devault, PA 19432
website: http://gvnc.org/Summer_Camps.html
Geek Credentials: Geocaching, compass reading, paintball and learning about the animals at the Nature Center

i2Camp
Location: Rosemont
website: http://i2camp.org/schedules/agnes-irwin-jr/
Geek Credentials: Genetics and DNA, Time & Space, Engineering


New Jersey

Katz JCC
Location: Cherry Hill, NJ
website: https://www.fi.edu/discovery-camp-katz-jcc
Geek Credentials: Anatomy or the heart and brain, science of movement



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