Summer Camp Deadlines for Budget-Friendly Camps

Amber Ceffalio -
Students conduct Venus flytrap experiments as part of a cultural adventures summer camp. (Photo via Brooklyn Cultural Adventures Program / flickr)

Mark your calendars! Every year highly sought after camps–including ones that are free or subsidized–fill up quickly. Not all of those camps are open yet, but if you’re doing summer on a budget, here are camps and dates to put on your calendar.

Brooklyn Cultural Adventures Program (BCAP)
BPL Central Library, Youth Wing
10 Grand Army Plaza
Registration opens February 1. Discounts available through February 28.
BCAP partners with the best of Brooklyn’s museums guiding kids ages 7-12 through science and art. This summer, specific focus is placed on “good eats”. The three 2-week camps fill up quickly because it’s subsidized and provides a memorable summer. While BCAP is competitively priced, scholarships and financial aid packages are also available.

BCAPteen Creative Leadership Project
BPL Central Library, Commons Learning Lab
Registration opens February 1. Limited to 20 spots.
Teens ages 13-17 blend volunteering, leadership, and filmmaking while exploring Brooklyn’s top cultural gems. By the end of this 6-week program, teens will have created 3 original, short films. Teens 14 and older receive a stipend!

Prospect Park Zoo
450 Flatbush Avenue
(718)220-5100
Registration opens January 10.
We included Prospect Park Zoo because where else can a 12-month-old go to summer camp?! Slots are in high demand. (Caregiver is also required to attend.) Older campers, who can attend without an adult in tow, explore both animal science and myths. How did the turtle get its shell? Well, Zoo Camp explores the scientific reasons as well as the ones that show up in stories around the world.

New York Parks and Recreation Camps at Pools
Various locations around Brooklyn
Registration not yet open. Check Parks and Rec website in early March.
Like the program listed below, when registration for camps at Brooklyn pools opens, it will be available for one short week. Parks and Rec doesn’t yet know when summer camp registration will open; they guessed maybe early April. My suggestion: if you’re interested in swimming camp at a Brooklyn pool, bookmark the Parks and Rec webpage and visit it once a week starting in March so you don’t miss the registration window.

In addition to summer camps, NYC Parks and Rec hosts free learn to swim and after school programs. The online registration period is one week. Mark your calendars as registration opens on Monday, March 13, 2017 at noon and ends on Monday, March 20, 2017 at 11:55 p.m. The spring session learn to swim dates are:

  • Afterschool Learn to Swim for Children: March 27, 2017 – June 10, 2017
  • Saturday Learn to Swim for Adults and Tots: April 1, 2017 – June 10, 2017
  • Saturday Learn to Swim for Children: March 25, 2017 – June 8, 2017 (Mandatory Water Test: March 25, 2017)

Happy Camping!