Academic Camps are designed to provide children who are enthusiastic learners with academic instruction and experiences beyond what they typically receive during the school year. Academic camps are often held at K-12 private school campuses and local universities.

Most academic camps utilize fun learning activities and frequent breaks to strike a balance between academics and summer fun. Be sure to also check out our directory of Science & Technology camps.

iD Gaming Academy ~ Stanford
GAME ON! What could be better than 2 weeks with other Teens ages 13-18 who also love gaming!  Prove to others that gaming is more than a hobby, and apply your interest to creating a video game, talking to industry professionals, and building a portfolio. We guarantee small class sizes (max 8:1), and courses are taught by top-tier instructors who have degrees in the field and impressive backgrounds.  Locations include Stanford, Harvard, Villanova, Emory, and more. Get ready for late-night gaming tournaments. Students can earn Accredited Continuing Education Units.  Also weeklong summer gaming camps for ages 7-17 held at iD Tech Camps.

iD Programming Academy  ~ Stanford
Love programming, engineering, and robotics?  Spend 2 weeks with other Teens ages 13-18 who share your interests. Interact with industry pros, build a portfolio for college, and engage in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education. Courses: iPhone/iPad/Android App Development, Java for the AP Exam, or Modding & Programming with Minecraft. We guarantee small class sizes (max 8:1), and courses are taught by top-tier instructors who have degrees in the field and impressive backgrounds. Held at Stanford, UCLA, Yale, UT Austin, MIT, Princeton, UNC-Chapel Hill, and more.  Students can earn Accredited Continuing Education Units.  Also weeklong summer programming camps held at iD Tech Camps.

iD Visual Arts Academy  ~ Berkeley
Love taking photos or making movies? Spend 2 weeks engaged in creative expression with Teens ages 13-18 who share your photography and filmmaking interests.  Beginners to advanced students use Photoshop, After Effects, or Final Cut Pro to create projects and portfolios. We guarantee small class sizes (max 8:1), and courses are taught by top-tier instructors who have degrees in the field and impressive backgrounds.  Locations include UC Berkley, Yale, and NYU. Students can earn Accredited Continuing Education Units. Also weeklong summer filmmaking and photography camps held at iD Tech Camps.

TechKnowHow Computer and Robotics Camps ~ Locations from San Francisco to San Jose and now more East Bay Locations!
High-quality, fun and educational classes in Game Design, Electronics, Motorized LEGO and K'NEX Projects, NXT Robotics, and Stop Motion. For students, ages 5 -14. Many convenient locations, with classes starting at $220/week for half-day camps and $385/week for all-day sessions. Serving the Bay Area for over 19 years!

Delphi Academy Summer Camp ~ Campbell
Looking for Academics, Art, Athletics and Adventure?  Don’t miss a summer of fun and learning at Delphi Academy!   Activities for campers ages 4 – 13 include individualized studies with experienced teachers, weekly swimming, field trips and sports, workshops in junior engineering and movie-making, plus camping trips to exciting locations!  Morning academics keep students’ minds active and learning.  Afternoon activities, day trips and camping trips keep the fun going strong all summer!

Extended Year De Anza College ~ Cupertino
A summer enrichment program for kids and teens entering 1st through 10th grades: classes are for students performing academically at or above grade level. We also partner with the Euphrat Museum of Art to provide art classes taught by working artists with Master's Degrees in Fine Arts.

College for Kids ~ San Bruno and San Mateo
Voted “2009 Best Academic Enrichment Program”, College for Kids is celebrating 21 years of fun learning! This 3-week summer camp in a college setting encourages youth entering 5th through 9th grades to explore new subjects and develop their skills through hands-on classes in computers, creative arts, math, sciences, digital media, sports and language arts. Offered at Skyline College June 17-July 3, 2013 and College of San Mateo July 8-25, 2013, Mon-Thurs, 1:30-4:45 pm. Visit www.summercampsanmateo.com or call (650) 574-6149 for more information.

Ace Academics ~ Los Altos, Palo Alto, San Francisco, San Mateo, Saratoga
Ace Academics mission is to develop and support excellent thinking, speaking, and writing skills to enhance academic performance by fortifying language arts, and to encourage the effective self-expression skills necessary to demonstrate mastery.  Our programs are designed to demystify the art of the written and spoken word to Express Yourself! with confidence.

Camps at Synapse - Innovative Academies ~ Menlo Park, Belmont
Engaging summer enrichment camps for kids preK through 8th grade.  Camps for motivated and curious kids in Nature, LEGO Robotics, Math, Music, Invention, Engineering, and Literary Exploration.  Kids take the drivers seat in these hands on immersion camps and can choose half day or full day schedules.

Camp Galileo ~ 22 locations in San Francisco, Marin, East Bay, South Bay and the Peninsula
Our award-winning curriculum — inspired by the innovation process developed at Stanford d.school — liberates kids to explore without fear of mistakes. The experience is profound — and it’s a blast. Our weekly themes combine art, science and outdoor activities into a whimsical narrative that keeps kids giggling and engaged. Summer 2013's themes are Medieval Adventure: Art and Inventions of Camelot, Galileo Amusement Park: Art and Science of Circuses, Rides and Carnivals, African Safari: Art and Animals of the Serengeti and Space Odyssey: Cosmic Art and Rocket Science.

Galileo Summer Quest ~ 14 locations in San Francisco, Marin, East Bay, South Bay and the Peninsula
At Galileo Summer Quest, 5th – 8th graders choose one of 14 majors, then spend an entire week focused on realizing their own personal vision—whether they’re designing a fashion line or video game, creating their signature recipe, or building a high-performance go-kart. Campers are surrounded by exceptional instructors, professional tools and materials and eager collaborators. Majors range from Fashion Design to Go-Kart Builders!

Imagineering Summer Camp by Wizbots ~ Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Carlos
ROBOTS + IMAGINATION + ENGINEERING = FUN!  We combine LEGO® robotics with a vast array of interesting projects, materials and choices to provide an outstanding range of possibilities.  Our dynamic labs indulge the imagination while enriching the mind, so girls and boys learn without even knowing it!  We offer half day, full day, and extended care options for students entering grades 2-8 in the fall. Because Wizbots runs programs year-round, our camps are lead by experienced staff and are based on our unique, progressive curriculum. Join the fun!

Urban Adventure Camp ~ Oakland
Urban Adventure Camps is unique week-long day camp for children ages 8-15. Camp begins each morning at Rockridge Bart in Oakland where campers meet their group and begin their day’s adventure. Groups visit museums, parks, galleries,  and various other urban attractions and citycenters. Public transportation is used to travel between locations, thereby developing the campers’ knowledge and confidence when travelling within  a city. Each session focuses on one of the following subject areas: physical science, natural science, history and art.

Camp BizSmart ~ San Mateo, Stanford
Camp BizSmart, named by CNN as the most unique camp in the US, is the premiere business & entrepreneur academy where students ages 11-15 are challenged with “hot topic” real business problems sponsored by cool companies like HopeLab, NeuroSky, & Hydrovolts. Student inventions are transformed into full color product renderings by design firm, WAGIC. Executives from Apple, Google, Cisco, & more mentor the students with insights into the secrets of Silicon Valley. Fast, fun & intense real world team projects, teach the skills necessary to design, write & defend a biz case solution to investors at the BizPlan Competition held at Microsoft.

The Tech Summer Camps - Powered by Galileo ~ San Jose
The Tech Summer Camps (4th – 8th graders): More than 20 science and technology classes for aspiring innovators at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. Extended care from 8 am – 6 pm. Optional healthy lunch program. Register by February 28 and save $20 per week. To sign up or learn more, visit www.galileo-camps.com or call 1-800-854-3684.

Chabot Space & Science Camp powerd by Galileo ~ Oakland
Chabot Space & Science Camp (3rd – 7th graders): 10 hands-on engineering, technology, earth and space science classes at the Chabot Space and Science Center in the Oakland Hills. Extended care from 8 am – 6 pm. Optional healthy lunch program. Register by February 28 and save $20 per week. To sign up or learn more, visit www.galileo-camps.com or call 1-800-854-3684.

Take My Word For It! ~ San Francisco, Oakland, Piedmont, Berkeley
“Take My Word For It!” is a one-of-a-kind creative writing & art summer program that tickles kids’ imaginations. We provide lots of innovative projects that encourage kids to dive into their creativity and explore their author and artist selves!  During the school year we lead kids on writing adventures in after-school programs & community settings all over the Bay area. Our campers have the opportunity to share their work at our reading/exhibit for parents and friends at the end of each camp session. 
Visit takemywordforit.net for more info and to register!

Kidizens ~ Palo Alto, Belmont
At Kidizens, children (ages 8-12) learn real-life strategies and civic concepts in a social, interactive and fun learning environment by building LEGO model cities and living in them as "kidizens." We also offer a guided discovery program for younger (ages 5-7) kids as well as our Young Senators and Leadership programs for older students. Check out our summer program where each student serves as mayor of an entire LEGO city and must respond to real-time events as they happen! TheKidizens.com

College 4 Kids at West Valley College ~ Saratoga
Looking for a great academic enrichment program in the South Bay for middle school students? College 4 Kids offers an array of academic and elective courses for students entering 6th thru 9th grade in the fall. Our program offers exciting, challenging and creative curriculum in math, science, language arts, drama, digital art, animation, business, robotics, electronics, and sports. All of the classes are taught by credentialed and/or highly trained instructors. Check out our new classes and format for this summer.

Communication Academy ~ Cupertino, Palo Alto, Peninsula & East Bay locations
What is the number one skill in life? Communication! Grade K-12 students can join summer camps in Public Speaking, Debate, Writing, Reading and Math Olympiad. These activity-based half and full day camps keep students engaged, all while learning and having fun. Students need communication skills to improve their self-confidence and stand out in school, career and life. Our instructors are all accomplished college professors, Speech and Debate coaches, teachers, published authors, and competitive math coaches.

UC Berkeley's Academic Talent Development Program ~ Berkeley & Point Richmond
Make Summer Count. UC Berkeley's ATDP offers challenging summer courses for highly motivated young scholars. Secondary Division (grades 7-11) is held for six weeks on campus. Elementary Division (K-6) is three weeks at Washington School in Point Richmond. Application deadlines are in February (Secondary Division) and March (Elementary Division); late applications considered.

Eureka! Summer Discovery Camp ~ San Francisco
4th-12th grades. Engages, Teaches and Implements. June 3-August 9. Eureka! Summer Discovery Camp is a full­day program of morning academic workshops and afternoon activities to engage youth in honing their reading, writing, math and computer skills through classroom instruction and direct application in fun, creative hands­on projects. Activities include Drawing, Computer Animation, Web Design, Game Creation, Music Production, DJ, Breakdancing, Open Mic, Films, Field Trips and Outoor Activities. www.eurekatutoring.org and www.truegrowthsf.org.

Abacus and Public Speaking Camp ~ San Mateo
Make your summer time more valuable this year!! Challenge School is offering a full academic camp for K - 6th grade students. In the morning we do fun activities like art/science/cooking, in the early morning we do Public Speaking and Writing. And in the late afternoon, we have an intensive abacus boot camp which not only can boost your math skills, but also help your attention and focus. The camp is taught by qualified teachers with lots of experience and recognized credentials. We also go field trip every Friday. Come join us in our brand new facility in San Mateo.

More Academic Camps

Featured Language Camps
Spanish Intensive Camp at Marin Horizon ~ Mill Valley
For the first time ever, we are going to be launching an Intensive Spanish Camp for students entering 4th – 8th grades. Children will spend each week dialoging with Spanish speakers and are supported by a team facilitating material in history, art, music, and natural wonders of the Spanish-speaking world. Activities include cultural games, arts & crafts, cooking, a real-life Mexican market, as well as weekly swimming, field trips, and lunch preparation.

Camp Jano India ~ Fremont, Mountain View, Oakland, Santa Clara, San Jose
Celebrate Indian culture, languages, arts, festivals, literature, cuisine, and leaders. Weekly themes are brought to life through related arts, games, projects, stories and theatre in a very unique, exciting, creative, interactive and structured style. A very unique and memorable experience that kids will want to repeat! Mornings are spent with the Hindi language at the child’s level while incorporating the weekly theme. Afternoons provide the cultural elements taught in an interactive and engaging style with special emphasis on drama as the medium. Online Registration at www.JanoIndia.org or call (650) 493-1566. Sponsored by US Hindi Association (USHA), an educational 501c(3) non profit.

New Sprouts Chinese Immersion Summer Camp ~ Oakland
Experience Chinese language and culture in two super fun 2-week sessions. Chinese Cooking: 7/23-8/3 and Chinese Discoveries: 8/6-8/17. Campers will learn Mandarin language and participate in a load of fun activities including: music, song, dance, crafts, sports, games, calligraphy, art, snacks, field trips and workshops. Beautiful Lake Merritt facility with great teacher to student ratio allows for happy campers who return week after week, year after year. For kids entering K-5th grade. No experience needed! Enroll online: www.newsprouts.org.

i-Immersion Science, Language and Fitness Camp ~ Emeryville, Milpitas, Mountain View, San Mateo
Acquire a new language through hands-on and engaging activities for campers 3-11 years old. The i-Immersion Spanish and Mandarin iiCamps are especially designed for children of all language proficiency. Age groups 3.5-5, 5-8 and 9-11 years old. Our age-appropriate curriculum focuses on inquiry-based learning that incorporates science, arts & craft, language academics, fitness and more! Enroll with California’s one-and-only “B Corp” certified language institute and start investing in your child’s future!

Spanish Immersion Day Camps ~ Lafayette, Piedmont, Pt. Richmond, San Francisco & San Anselmo
Viva el Español offers week-long Spanish Immersion Camps designed to give children a unique opportunity to learn or improve their Spanish language skills over the summer.  During each week students participate in interactive games, music and movement activities, and art & craft projects that center around a specific theme. Each week culminates with a sing-along and presentation, where the kids get to show off what they learned. Camps are for children ages 5+.

Bay Language Academy ~ Alameda
We invite campers (4-12 Y) to travel and open up doors to explore past and recent civilizations. Evaluate the wonders of the terrestrial and the under world through artistic workshops. Cultures will be revealed through customs and cooking demo. Sessions (6/10-8/30) will introduce/reinforce French, Spanish or Mandarin and the cultures they convey. Our language immersion summer-camp is infused with cultural activities and taught by a team of bilingual instructors. Beautiful facility allowing daily field-trips with great teacher to student ratio.

German-American School of Palo Alto ~ Menlo Park
Gedanken in den Wolken…Fuesse im Matsch! (With your head in the clouds and your feet in the mud!)  That is the motto of our 2013 Summer Camp Program. We, the German-American School of Palo Alto are excited to once again offer a full-immersion 4-week day camp summer camp program for children between the ages 3-12 from June 24th to July 19th. No prior German language knowledge is required. Program details and registration information is available at www.gaspa-ca.org

Escuela Bilingue International Spanish Immersion Camps ~ Oakland
Spanish Immersion Camps, Enrichment and After school Spanish classes!
Escuela Bilingüe Internacional (EBI) is the Bay Area’s first Spanish-English dual-immersion, independent school. This summer your child can explore art, music, science, gardening, movement and dozens of other enriching and dynamic themes in Spanish! Fun visitors and/or field trips included! Ages 3-12. EBI also offers enrichment, and after school Spanish. EBI’s experienced teachers will make learning Spanish an engaging and gratifying adventure! Visit www.ebinternacional.org. Contact (510) 653.3324 or scifo@ebinternacional.org.

Petits Confettis ~ Los Altos
Bonjour! Want to experience a French camp for your 3 to 5 years old kid(s)? Come and join us for 1 to 6 week(s) of French camps!
Kids will be totally comfortable to learn French while they will make team project like building a tipi or making French bread. Weekly themes with cooking, arts & craft, drama, outdoor activities, board games, music, yoga, rhymes and story time, ALL IN FRENCH! More info: http://www.petitsconfettis.com/summer-camps.html

Mandarin Immersion Summer Camp ~ San Mateo
This is our 11th Chinese language and culture summer camp.  We take children from K-6th grade. This year we continue the weekly fun theme like art/science/cooking/sports in the morning.  In the afternoon, we have abacus/reading and Chinese culture lessons taught in Mandarin. Our teachers are all native speakers with lots of experiences and credentials. Our weekly field trips go to difference places like SF zoo, tech museums, fire stations etc. Come join us in our brand new facility in San Mateo.  

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