Looking for fun and educational summer camps for your K-8 graders? Orangutan Academy offers STEAM camps near beautiful Green Lake Park in North Seattle! Indoor and outdoor activities are planned every day. Our instructors have 30+ years of professional teaching experience! Families may register students for a whole week, single days, or half-days. Please contact us any time with questions.
Camp topics are:
Week 1: June 23 – 27: Awesome Places for Kids to Visit in Summer. Students go on virtual tours of parks, mountains, beaches, zoos, museums, and festivals, including Yellowstone National Park, Tillamook Cheese Factory, Olympic National Park, Seattle Art Museum, Sun Lakes–Dry Falls State Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Medieval Festivals and Faires, Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Museum of the Rockies, North Cascades National Park, and Port Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.
Week 2: June 30 – July 3: Games from Around the World and History. Students learn and play dozens of games indoors and outdoors throughout history. Indoor games include Mancala, Knucklebones (dice), Checkers, Royal Game of Ur, Men’s Morris, Chaturaji, Chatarunga, Dominoes, Chess, Shogi, Xiangqi, Life, Stratego, “Chinese” Checkers, Monopoly, Risk, Monster Mayhem, Go, Settlers of Catan, Pandemic, Ticket to Ride, Dragonwood, Rummikub, Coup, Labyrinth, Carcassonne, Cascadia, Othello, and Uno! Outdoor games include Frisbee Golf, Ultimate Frisbee, dozens of “Tag” games, Basketball, and Scavenger Hunts.
Week 3: July 7 – 11: Green Lake City Park History, Plants, and Animals. Did you know that Green Lake Park has been one of the most popular parks in Seattle for the past 100 years?! It has more than a million visitors per year! Students explore the lake, its history, gardens, buildings, beaches, playfields, dozens of animals, 250+ species of plants, an annual calendar of events, stories of people who have lived and worked at the park, and even a ghost story!
Week 4: July 14 – 28: History of Major League Baseball. The Atlanta Braves host the 2025 Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game on July 15. During this exciting week, we review the origins of baseball, baseball eras, rule changes, legendary teams, legendary players, legendary managers, legendary announcers, milestones, famous ballparks, the history of uniforms, the history of the equipment, the history of franchises, historic games, historic seasons, championships, changing styles of play, All-Star Games, scandals, mascots, and the general human drama and comedy of the game. We will focus on the history of Seattle Major League Teams (Mariners, Pilots) for one of these days.
Week 5: July 21 – 25: Astronomy and Solar System. Students explore the many scales of the universe, including. Solar System, stars, exoplanets, Milky Way Galaxy, Local Group of Galaxies, Superclusters, and greater Cosmic Web.
Week 6: July 28 – August 1: Our Amazing Earth! Earth System Science. Based on a series of popular lectures, students learn the structure, functions, and interactions between the different parts of the Earth over time. We explore the rocks and minerals that make up the interior and surface of the Earth (Geosphere), the gas layers that surround the Earth (Atmosphere), the parts of the Earth made of liquid and solid water (Hydrosphere and Cryosphere), the invisible “force field” that surrounds and protects the Earth (Magnetosphere), the “living” parts of the Earth and where they live (Biosphere), and all parts of the Earth System affected by humans (Anthrosphere). Students also learn the Geologic Time Scale and how parts of the Earth System have changed over time.
Week 7: August 4 – 8: Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures. Students explore dinosaur origins, what is and isn’t a dinosaur, diversity, physical appearance (skin, feathers, skeletons, internal organs, coloration), behaviors, sounds, how they interacted with each other and their environment, how they grew, the typical life of a Tyrannosaurus rex, and general dinosaur evolution over the past 240 million years, including the modern dinosaurs that we call “birds”! We also explore other famous fossils from land and sea, including Mammoths, Saber-toothed Cats, Giant Ground Sloths, Giant Lizards, Ancient Forests, Giant Sharks, Giant Marine Reptiles, trilobites, ammonites, and more!
Week 8: August 11 – 15: Dragons and Other Mythological Creatures. Dragons are magical creatures in many traditional myths, pop culture, and fantasy, including Tiamat, Smaug, Mushu, Godzilla, Hydra, Dragonite, Ghidorah, Glaurung, Scatha, Fafnir, and Shenron / Shenlong. Students explore different types of dragons, their stories, abilities, feats, and treasures! We also look at other famous mythological creatures, such as fairies, elves, leprechauns, dwarves, Chupacabra, vampires, werewolves, Basket Women, Griffins, Selkie, Anansi, Mothman, Bugbears, Anubis, Balrogs, and Sphinx.
Week 9: August 18 – 22: Great Adventures in History and Myth. People love a good story, eh? Students learn about great journeys from history, mythology, and pop culture. Historical journeys include Native American migration into the Americas, Polynesian migration across the Pacific Ocean, Viking Leif Erickson exploring North America, Greek Pytheas of Massalia exploring northern Europe, Venetian Marco Polo across Asia, Chinese Zheng He’s many journeys in the Indo-Pacific Ocean, Native American Moncacht Ape across North America, and the Lewis and Clark Expedition across North America. Mythological and pop culture journeys include Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Jason and the Argonauts, Psyche and Cupid, Orpheus and Eurydice, Monkey King and the Underworld, Thor and the Land of Giants, Loki and the Cursed Ring, Ilmarinen and the Sampo, Bilbo and Thorin’s Company, Frodo and Sam, and Bill and Ted.
Week 10: August 25 – 29: Food Science! Desserts, Candies, and Favorite Foods. We end summer with a fun exploration of foods from around the world. We poll students and staff about their favorite foods and then research where they come from, how they were made, and their history. In 2024, students learned about pizza, ice cream, donuts, gummy bears, marshmallows, licorice, hard candy, popcorn, avocados, pop rocks, spaghetti, pemmican, baked onions, bread, tacos, chocolate, cheese, butter, and whipped cream. We made butter and whipped cream for students to sample! We also did a virtual tour of the Tillamook Cheese Factory and watched “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (1971).
