You may not have a warped wall, but that doesn’t mean you can’t adapt your existing camp apparatus, and add to it, to make a fun and safe obstacle course. Then have the top two teams square off for a final dodge ball war. You can give teams different colored balloons and track which one has the most hits. This is an excellent activity for those hot days at summer camp when the kids want a fun way to cool off. Playing dodge ball is more fun when it involves water balloons. One note: If there are any poisonous plants that campers might come into contact with, train them on how to identify and avoid them before you get this activity started. Another tip is to research the plants and birds that are local to your camp, and create your list that way. Here’s one downloadable nature scavenger hunt we really like. Scavenger hunts are always popular, and you can make these as simple or as challenging as you’d like, depending on the age of your campers. Kids can create their own rockets and measure whose goes the farthest. What kid doesn’t love creating a rocket and launching it into space? And what could be better than an alkaline-seltzer powered rocket that uses simple parts and teaches a bit of science? has downloadable instructions and a template for rocket decorations. If you wait for a particularly hot day you can do the egg test, where you crack an egg on a hot surface to see if the sun will really cook it. Setting a table with second hand plates to see if you can really pull a table close out without breaking anything.Getting campers to yawn to see if it’s really contagious.Comparing fingerprints using an ink pad and paper.This list of myth buster activities offers a bunch of different examples for kids, and many of them don’t require a ton of special equipment. No matter which junk you choose, this is one of our favorite summer camp activities. Each team will drop their cages from different heights to see which protects the egg from the highest. For younger kids, or indoor spaces, give them lightweight materials and tape, and see if they can build a cage for an egg.
Split campers into groups, and then have them compete to see which catapult can send a water balloon the furthest. If your campers are safe using tools, one fun idea is to challenge them to build a catapult with scrap lumber, ropes, and cloth to launch water balloons. Depending on the time available and the age of your campers, you can make this as simple or as involved as you want. Junkyard Warsīased on an old TV series from the early 2000s, give campers a task to build a machine using only the items you give them. Instead of prizes, you can give each cabin a stamp or a sticker that campers can collect as they complete each activity. You can also provide some basic supplies such as: Then set aside the afternoon for the kids to rotate from cabin to cabin playing carnival games they made. Give kids time in the morning to brainstorm a fun carnival game they can create with things they find in their cabins or outside in nature. Groups repeat the process and can’t move to the next activity until they reach a fill line.This passes to the last person in line, who pours all remaining water into an empty bucket.Next, they lift the cup over their head and pour it backwards, trying to get as much water as possible in the cup of the person behind them.Each group stands in a line and the first person fills their cup from a bucket of water.Looking for an activity that doesn’t require a lot of specialized equipment? Try Cup-for-Cup, where all you need are plastic cups, buckets, and water. Group kids by cabins, start each at a single station and have them rotate to a new station when they hear the air horn blow. Use your imagination to come up with fun outdoor games that let the kids get wet, dirty, and exhausted. Set up several stations with group activities like a three-legged race, water balloon hot potato, relay race with eggs on spoons, potato sack race, beanbag toss, sprinkler limbo, super soaker tag, etc. Kids of all ages love Field Day where they can try their hands at all sorts of outdoor challenges. If you’re looking for more accessible activities that can work for kids who are in wheelchairs or who have neuromuscular disorders, check out this blog post. Great camp activities help build your program’s community spirit and offer something new to campers that keep them coming back every summer.įrom games to crafts, projects, experiments, and more, here is a list of 27 programming activities that will engage and delight kids of all ages.
How do you keep kids entertained and active all summer long at camp? You need a long list of fun, exciting, challenging ideas for summer camp activities that everyone will love.