Discovery Camps such as Grandparent and Me!, Wildwood Theatre Camp, How to Build A Computer, Digital Music Production, or Robotics, offer the chance to do something different while learning new skills, expanding on a hobby, or just trying something new of interest.
Registration for summer camps begins at 8 a.m. Monday, January 30 for Mentor residents and Thursday, February 2 for nonresidents.
Click on any camp title below for dates, times, fees, and other additional details.
Easy Ways to Register
Online 24/7 It’s easy, fast secure and convenient!
Phone-In Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (440) 974-5720 Visa or Mastercard Accepted
Mail-In or Drop-Off Mentor Recreation Department 8500 Civic Center Blvd. Mentor, Ohio 44060
Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Fill out our camp registration form. Pay by check or charge.
Wildwood Theater Camp
Students entering grades 3 and up
Discover the world of theater involving acting, role playing, audition techniques, make-up and basic set building. Camp will evolve from the campers and their talents. It will be FUN and IMPROVISATIONAL. Theater Camp will produce a stage presentation for friends and family during the last week of camp. This revue will feature each and every one of our stars. Wear to camp: Clothing appropriate for the weather, tennis shoes (no sandals). Bring to camp: lunch each day.
Amazing Rollercoaster Camp
Ages 8 – 11
Be a part of the design and engineering team that builds a working miniature roller coaster, 3 feet long and 3 feet high! Make it fast, fun and safe. Build steep inclines and exciting drops while understanding the mechanics of roller coasters and take home your own amusement ride kit to create with later!
Camp 911
Ages 11 – 14
Come and experience what its really like to be a firefighter or a police officer. The camp is run by full-time firefighters and police officers. You will learn
about CPR, practice first aid bandaging, get to use a fire extinguisher on a REAL fire, put on the gear firefighters use, and learn about the role of police officers and their investigative responsibilities and crime prevention, all while having fun, too.
Camp 911 Junior
Ages 8 – 10
Just for kids who are beginning to spend a little more time alone, Camp 911 Junior is run by full-time firefighters and police officers. Kids experience first aid bandaging, fire safety, bicycle safety as well as getting hands-on tours of police cars and fire trucks.
Fun In The Kitchen Cooking Camp For Kids
Children ages 6-12 years old
Judi makes cooking fun! Now Judi Strauss is offering a series of hands-on cooking classes for children. Kids will get to create, learn and experience cooking in our kitchen instead of yours with lots of hands-on fun! They will learn how to make different healthy foods for meals, snacks & desserts. Remember to dress for mess.
Grandparent & Me Camp
Ages 6 – 99
Grandparents and their grandkids can explore summer camp together in this intergenerational camp experience. Meet at Wildwood Cultural Center the first two days and participate in games and activities, create a variety of arts & crafts, and go exploring in outdoor adventures together. The last day will be spent at the Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve & Marina where kayaking, nature walks, a hayride and campfire will complete the experience. Price of camp is per person. Wear to camp: clothes for making a mess, and for the weather; light pants are recommended to protect against scratches, poison ivy, and bug bites, though the heat may make shorts preferable, sturdy shoes and socks (no sandals), sunscreen, insect repellant. Bring to camp (each person): lunch and beverage, sunscreen, insect repellant, water bottle, towel, dry clothes for Friday.
Jungle Robot Camp
Ages 8 – 11
Build & take home a Jungle Robot! Robot legs can be changed to make a gorilla, spider, centaur or monkey. It moves forward, backward or can swing across a clothes line. This robot is sound activated and moves by the clap of your hand.
Lego Robotronix
Ages 8 – 11
Campers will build a robot using Lego Mindstorm 2.0. Teams of 4 will use Lego sensors, motors, gears, and other components. Kids will program the robots to react to sound, and sense objects from a distance. Finally the teams can invent new robot designs. They are limited only by their imaginations.
Making an iPhone App
Ages 12 – 15
This Tek lab will explore the process of creating iPhone apps. Participants will acquire the skills of basic programming, digital animation, and digital sound mixing to create fun and exciting games on their device (like Super Mario). We will help you understand the logical sequence of a computer program and how loops, variables, and constants are used in an app sequence. Bring an iPhone, if possible.
Nature Camp – Exploring the Lagoons
Ages 7 – 12
The lagoons holds many special places and inhabitants. In this camp we’ll hike to the old homestead area, follow deer tracks, swing from vines, look for shells on the beach, paddle into the river and net flying insects in the meadow. Campers will record their week and create a photo-journal, too! Wear to camp: tennis or hiking shoes; sunscreen, insect repellant, bathing suit, t-shirt and shorts. You may also want a hat and/or sunglasses. Bring to camp: lunch and extra snack, back pack, towel, water bottle with child’s name on it, sunscreen
Science Discovery Camp
Ages 8 – 10
Discover the exciting world of science with fun, hands-on experiments and science projects. Instructor Eb Molesch has more than four decades of analytical science experience and will guide you through some really cool experiments in light (optics) such as rainbows and mixtures of color, you’ll learn what happens when matter changes, and you’ll have fun with color separation. Through hands-on experience, you’ll discover the magnificent properties of gases using balloons, soda pop, & changes in temperature, and explore the world of tiny objects with microscopes. Each student is going to get safety glasses, and a workbook with instructions on how to record the experiments, and then reach some conclusions about each module. Get ready for discovery! Bring to camp: snack and drink.
Stop Motion Animation
Ages 8 – 11
Kids will learn the stop animation technique to make films using the program Scratch. The desired effect is achieved by putting together a series of still images. These images appear to move like a video. This animation technique has been used in such movies as Wallace and Gromit and James and the Giant Peach. If you’d like to bring your own laptop, we’ll help you load the software and you can continue making great digital art at home!
Summer Farm Camp
Ages 6 – 10
From seed to sowing, watering and growing, then straight through to harvesting and eating, our all new Summer Farm Camp is designed to let kids have their hands in organic farming and gardening. You’ll meet at Mentor Beach Park each morning, then head out to one of Mentor’s few organic farms, A’s & O’s Farm, where we’ll tour the farm, and learn about gardening methods, farmland issues, seeds, soil, weather, irrigation, pest control, weeding, and marketing issues, all in a hands-on format. Because farming isn’t an overnight process, each camper will go home with seeds to plant in their own garden, and an invitation to come back to the farm weekly to help look after the food being grown, then share in the harvest at the end of the season.
