Summer Camp 2026

2 Months through Middle School

The Mara Montessori Collective Summer Camp offers outdoor-focused, themed summer camps running from June 22 through August 14. Camps are available in two extended sessions for children ages 2 months–5 years, and weekly sessions for Upper Elementary, Lower Elementary and Middle School.

Camp programming takes place primarily outdoors at two locations: Rochester Hills and Bloomfield Hills. Both campuses feature ample space for sports, enrichment activities, and engaging indoor and outdoor experiences—all within a safe, guided environment thoughtfully designed for each age group.

Going beyond the traditional summer camp, Mara Summer Camp integrates Science, Technology, and Engineering through Art, Adventure, and Montessori-inspired, hands-on experiential learning. Families may choose individual sessions or weeks—or enjoy the full summer by enrolling in multiple sessions.

Registration for current Mara families is now open!

Registration for non-Mara families will open February 1st!

About Our Summer Camp

Available at both of our campuses, experience a summer immersed in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Adventure, and Montessori-inspired learning.

Our thoughtfully designed indoor and outdoor classrooms blend science and technology with the natural world, sparking curiosity and encouraging children to explore, design and create. Guided by our experienced Camp Leads, campers’ creativity comes alive through sports, cooking, crafting, music, arts, adventure skills, water days, and more—all within a hands-on, engaging environment built for discovery and fun. Campers may enroll in one or both four-week sessions. Children are grouped by age to ensure developmentally appropriate learning experiences.

Sessions

Session I: June 22 – July 17
Session II: July 20 – August 14

Program Details

Ages Infant, Toddler and Primary Camps: Four-week session format
Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle School: Weekly programs available (no 3-day option)

Infant & Toddler Camps

Our Infant & Toddler Summer Camp offers gentle, joyful summer experiences thoughtfully designed for our youngest learners. Children spend time outdoors each day. They enjoy fresh air and sunshine through age-appropriate activities like splashing in water tables, shady picnics on the grass, short nature walks and sensory exploration with natural materials. Inside, cozy classroom spaces invite rest, quiet play, stories, music and hands-on discovery, giving children the balance of activity and comfort they need to thrive.

Children will experience our carefully developed environment that supports early independence, language development, movement and social connection. All while honoring each child’s individual rhythms for sleep, play and nourishment. With familiar routines, warm relationships, and plenty of time to explore, children build confidence and joy in a setting that feels both exciting and secure. Each day is filled with curiosity, connection and summer magic — not just growing minds and bodies, but happy little hearts too.

Primary through Middle School Camps

Where Adventure and Discovery Awaits

At Mara Montessori Collective, our summer camps for Primary through Middle School students are built around weekly themes that spark curiosity, creativity, and confidence — from Art Studio and Water & STEM Labs to Theatre, Culinary Arts and Film Production.

While every age group explores the same theme each week, the experiences are anything but one-size-fits-all. Activities are thoughtfully designed to meet children exactly where they are developmentally. Younger campers learn through hands-on play, imagination and guided discovery. Elementary students dive deeper into collaboration, problem-solving and skill-building. Our adolescents take on real leadership, advanced projects and meaningful creative and technical challenges that mirror the real world.

This multi-age approach creates a powerful sense of community while ensuring every child is engaged, challenged and inspired at their own level. The result? Camps that feel cohesive across ages, but uniquely exciting for each stage of childhood — filled with movement, making, experimenting, performing, building and plenty of summer joy.

Primary Camp

3 - 6 years

The Art Studio (Week 1)

A magical open-air art world where little creators paint with nature brushes, sculpt squishy clay, swirl color, and experiment with joyful, splashy, sensory-rich art experiences. Every day becomes a mini art festival just for them.

Water Wonders & STEM Splash Lab (Week 2)

Sprinklers, splash tables, bubble storms, floating boats, color-changing ice—this week is pure summer magic. Little ones experiment, pour, mix, splash, and discover the science of water in joyful, hands-on ways.

Eco Explorers & Outdoor Adventures (Week 3)

Tiny explorers plant seeds, build bug hotels, examine wiggly worms, create butterfly art and follow nature trails around campus. Wonder fills every moment outdoors.

Innovation Lab (Week 4)

Little builders construct forts, roll balls down massive ramps, explore simple machines and tinker with recycled materials. Pure invention meets pure joy.

Masterpiece Theatre (Week 5)

Dress-up adventures, puppets, pretend villages, character play and joyful storytelling turn the week into a living fairytale of imagination.

Speed Lab: Engineering in Motion (Week 6)

Mini-engineers build ramps, gliders, rolling creations, and water-floating racers. They test, cheer, rebuild and try again—motion comes alive through play.

Taste & Test Kitchen (Week 7)

Welcome to The Water Café—a splash-filled culinary world where children rinse colorful pretend produce, mix swirling “recipes” in bubbly bins, pour rainbow water drinks and serve imaginative meals from their outdoor café window. A joyful blend of water play, sensory delight, kitchen role-play and early cooking exploration.

Summer Film Studio: Create, Film, Edit, Premiere (Week 8)

Children step into story magic—dressing up as characters, “acting” in playful scenes, exploring simple filming tools, building tiny sets and walking a mini red carpet. Every child becomes a star.

Lower Elementary School Camp

Grades 1 - 3

The Art Studio (Week 1)

Young makers explore printmaking, collage and sculpture as they discover how artists brainstorm, build, revise and bring big ideas to life. Their creativity takes center stage.

Water Wonders & STEM Splash Lab (Week 2)

Campers become water scientists—building bubble tunnels, testing mini-rafts, racing sponge rockets and discovering patterns, motion,and cause-and-effect through playful experimentation.

Eco Explorers & Outdoor Adventures (Week 3)

Children become budding ecologists—investigating habitats, recording observations in nature journals, modeling pollination and exploring ecosystems through hands-on discovery.

Innovation Lab (Week 4)

Campers create catapults, marble-run cities, cardboard machines, and early circuits as they explore how things move, lift, spin and react.

Masterpiece Theatre (Week 5)

Actors build scenes, explore improvisation, create expressive characters and design simple props as they rehearse for a delightful group performance.

Speed Lab: Engineering in Motion (Week 6)

Campers create stomp rockets, balloon racers, marble-track courses and mini boats, discovering the thrilling connection between design, force and speed.

Taste & Test Kitchen (Week 7)

Chefs-in-training explore the magic of the kitchen—measuring, mixing, emulsifying, rising, dissolving and transforming ingredients. Global tasting plates, sweet and savory experiments and fun bake-off challenges keep curiosity sizzling.

Summer Film Studio: Create, Film, Edit, Premiere (Week 8)

Campers create full mini-productions—writing short scripts, practicing scene acting, building props, recording sound effects, filming with iPads and editing simple clips. Their imaginations drive the entire film.

Upper Elementary School Camp

Grades 4-5

The Art Studio (Week 1)

Campers dive into jewelry making, textile art, pottery techniques and large collaborative murals—creating showcase-worthy pieces they’re proud to display.

Water Wonders & STEM Splash Lab (Week 2)

Students engineer mini boats, design water channels and aqueducts, explore pressure and flow and create hydrodynamic challenges as they push creativity and STEM thinking.

Eco Explorers & Outdoor Adventures (Week 3)

Campers analyze food webs, sketch wildlife, design bird feeders, map biodiversity and conduct real environmental experiments. Curiosity drives the week.

Innovation Lab (Week 4)

Students engineer towers, bridges, functional prototypes and wood-shop builds. Every challenge inspires teamwork, persistence and creative problem-solving.

Masterpiece Theatre (Week 5)

Students write scripts, choreograph movement, build sets, paint backdrops and collaborate on a fully staged ensemble show. They shine on stage and behind the scenes.

Speed Lab: Engineering in Motion (Week 6)

Students design derby cars, water rockets, aerodynamic gliders and timed racing machines. Each challenge demands creativity, precision and teamwork.

Taste & Test Kitchen (Week 7)

Campers tackle advanced culinary creativity—recipe writing, plating artistry, food-science reactions, temperature experiments and “mystery basket” competitions. Hands-on mastery meets real-world flavor.

Summer Film Studio: Create, Film, Edit, Premiere (Week 8)

Students storyboard scenes, plan angles, use lighting creatively, capture clean audio, build sets, create special effects and edit their film into a polished short production ready for premiere night.

Middle School Camp

Grades 6-9

The Art Studio (Week 1)

Emerging designers take on fashion illustration, digital layouts, advanced clay and curation. They plan and lead our Gallery Premiere, transforming the studio into a professional exhibition.

Water Wonders & STEM Splash Lab (Week 2)

Older students tackle competitive water-based engineering, fluid-motion tests, pressure labs and team splash challenges. They design and run our electrifying Camp Splash Games.

Eco Explorers & Outdoor Adventures (Week 3)

Adolescents take on advanced fieldwork—species tracking, ecological mapping, macro-photography and mini-research documentaries. They transform nature into science and storytelling.

Innovation Lab (Week 4)

Older makers dive into robotics components, kinetic sculptures, multi-stage engineered systems and passion-driven invention projects. This is deep-dive innovation at its best.

Masterpiece Theatre (Week 5)

Adolescents lead a true theatrical production—directing, acting, designing sets and costumes, managing lights and sound and delivering a polished end-of-week showcase.

Speed Lab: Engineering in Motion (Week 6)

Older engineers take on applied physics—testing propulsion, drag, lift and speed in complex builds—then run the exhilarating, camp-wide Race Day Finals.

Taste & Test Kitchen (Week 7)

Adolescent chefs take over a full kitchen studio—exploring world cuisines, nutrition science, multi-stage recipes, recipe testing and kitchen innovation. The week culminates in the dramatic Great Mara Bake-Off, where creativity, teamwork and taste collide.

Summer Film Studio: Create, Film, Edit, Premiere (Week 8)

Young filmmakers take over the studio—directing actors, filming with intention, layering sound design, mastering editing tools, adding transitions and scoring and planning an unforgettable Red-Carpet Film Festival that screens all final projects.

Example Camp Schedule

8:00–9:00 AM — Early Arrival (Optional)

Campers warm up with outdoor play, art invitations, and morning games as friends arrive.

9:00 AM — Camp Kickoff

A cheerful morning welcome, daily announcements, and a fun team activity to start the day with excitement.

9:15–10:00 AM — Morning Movement

High-energy field games, team challenges, relay races, and outdoor adventures to get minds and bodies ready for the day.

10:00 AM — Snack Break

10:15–11:45 AM — The Big Morning Experience

Each group dives into the week’s signature theme—art, water science, nature exploration, innovation, engineering, culinary creations, performing arts, or film production.

12:00–1:00 PM — Picnic Lunch & Outdoor Play

A relaxed lunch outdoors followed by open play, lawn games, and summer sunshine.

1:00–1:40 PM — Choice Block

Campers choose from exciting rotating stations: