The days of kids staying home all summer watching “Days of Our Lives” and eating popsicles are over. Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean students should stop learning. You don’t have send your kid to a camp far away. Here are details for some of the summer camps available in our neighborhood.

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For the well-rounded kid

Bishop Dunne
Dates: June 11-15, June 18-22 and June 25-29
Location: 3900 Rugged
For ages: 2-18
Tuition: $140-$260 per week
Sign up: bdhs.org
Bishop Dunne offers weeklong half-day camps, including enrichment programs, dance, arts and crafts, creative writing, understanding the stock market, math, cooking, science and more. Sports camps include volleyball for girls in grades 5-12 and speed and agility training for boys and girls in grades 5-9. There are also toddler camps for 2- to 3-year-olds.

For the nature lover

Trinity River Audubon Center
Dates: June 11-15
Location: 8525 Garland Rd. and 6500 Great Trinity Forest Way
For ages: 8-12
Tuition: $225-$250
Sign up: dallasarboretum.org
The Dallas Arboretum’s Lone Star Overnight Adventure Camp explores the life and times of Texas pioneers while studying native plants and animals. The weeklong camp culminates in an overnight trip to the Trinity River Audubon Center.

Dallas Zoo
Dates: June-August
Location: 650 South R L Thornton Freeway
For ages: 3-14
Tuition: $40-$265
Sign up: dallaszoo.com
The Dallas Zoo offers one-day camps in July and August for kids in pre-K to third grade. They cost $45, or $40 for members. Topics for those camps include predators, koalas and what zoo animals eat. Weeklong camps are available for 3-year-olds up to eighth-graders. Camps for little ones include “Animal ABCs.” Second- and third-graders can enroll in “Wild About Art” or “Survival Safari.” Middle-school kids can take photography or a class that explores the wildlife of Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center in Cedar Hill. Weeklong camps range from $135-$265. Camps are from 9 a.m.-noon and 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; childcare before and after is available for additional fees. There are also camps at the Children’s Aquarium as well as junior camp counselor programs.

 

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

For the artsy kid

Oil & Cotton
Dates: June-August
Location: 837 W. Seventh
For ages: 3-18
Tuition: $40-$150
Sign up: oilandcotton.com
Oil & Cotton offers one-day art classes for ages 3-12, plus four-day and weeklong classes for kids of every age group. Subjects include bookbinding, yoga, music, theater, jewelry making, gardening, printmaking, manga and more. Oil & Cotton also is collaborating with the Writer’s Garret to offer a ’zine class for students 8-18.

Make
Dates: July 9-13
Location: 409 N. Zang
For ages: 7-18
Tuition: $35-$340
Sign up: makeitindiegenius.com
“Project Make” is a weeklong camp in which students learn the basics of sewing and design and complete five projects over the week. There are sessions for 7-12 year olds and 8-18 year olds. Make also offers occasional one-day sewing classes for children. Check the schedule for those $35 classes.

For the thespian

TeCo Theatrical Productions
Dates: June 4-July 26
Location: Bishop Arts Theater Center, 215 S. Tyler
For ages: 6-12
Tuition: $600
Sign up: tecotheater.org
TeCo accepts 50 students each year to its eight-week Summer Cultural Enrichment Camp. Participants learn stage performance as well as business skills, including how to prepare a headshot and résumé, selecting the right monologue and how to audition. Other activities include visual arts, dance, music appreciation and theater techniques. The camp is from 7 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Thursday, and it culminates with productions on July 27 and 28. Tuition includes breakfast, lunch and snacks.

Junior Players
Dates: June 11-22 and July 9-20
Location: Kiest Park Recreation Center, 3080 S. Hampton, and Hampton-Illinois Branch Library, 2951 South Hampton
For ages: 7-14
Tuition: Free
Sign up: juniorplayers.org, 214.670.7793
Our neighborhood rec center offers a two-week theater camp, and classes are limited to 25 on a first-come, first-served basis. Instruction includes performing and theater arts. Classes culminate in the Festival of Plays, uniting rec centers all over Dallas.