Engineer with us this summer
Summer is here and that means The Works Museum is full of hands-on engineering fun for families.
Summer hours mean more time to explore our Experience Gallery including our newly expanded K’NEX Ball Machine and brand new Brick Pixel Pics experience. We are open every day of the week through August 31st. For hours and admission information as well as Holiday closures please visit our Hours and Admission page.
Field Trips
Think field trips only happen during the school year? Think again – summer camps and youth groups from all over the metro visit The Works Museum every summer. Check out all the options for your group on our Educators page.
Pop-Up Engineering Activities
Stop by and engineer with us during one of our “Pop-Up Engineering”, Pop-Up STEAM, and Pop-In activities in the Workshop. Build boats, shoot rockets, learn to sew, make a stop-motion movie, and so much more. Activities are free with paid admission.
Pre K Open Build
Pre K Open Build is back with special building challenges just for kids ages 3 to 5. These unfacilitated activities are aimed for younger kids that are just beginning to explore STEM concepts. Activities will rotate between the Wrecking Ball, Giant Geoboards, and Cardboard City.
Learn more about all our Pop-Up Offerings here.
Summer Camps
One of the biggest activities that we offer is our summer camps. Choose from one day camp to four day camps; mornings, afternoons, or both! Over 50 different camps for kids ages Pre K to 13 years old are available.
See what’s new for each age group:
Pre K:
New this year: Make it Squishy. This camp features the opportunity to make different squishy mixtures. From cloud dough to balloon yo-yos – this camp is hands-on and hands-in!
See a full list of Pre K camps here.
6-8 year olds:
This summer, we have several brand new camps.
Engineer for Your Pets. This camp will let kids make a model of a cats claw, create a mechanical pet toy and a scratching post for your pet. There will also be an opportunity to design a way to rescue a pet from a tree and even pretend to be a veterinarian and put a cast for your stuffed animal.
Create it with Carpentry: Tabletop Pinball. This camp allows kids to create a tabletop pinball machine by using carpentry. When creating a tabletop pinball machine, kids can design a theme, traps, and launchers.
We also have a new exciting LEGO themed summer camp: LEGO Architecture for Girls. This camp allows girls to construct a model house or building and solve design challenges.
STEAM Camp With Stages Theatre Company: The Magic and Mystery Show is another new option this year. In this summer camp we’ll partner with The Stages Theatre Company for a full day of fun and learning. Spend the first half of each day with The Works STEM educators exploring the science and engineering behind performing classic magic tricks and illusions. Spend the second half of the day with Stages Theatre Company teaching artists.
See the full list of camps for 6-8 year olds here.
9-11 year olds:
There’s even more to explore for 9-11 year olds this summer.
Famous Engineer Fails is a brand new camp this year. In this camp, kids will be able to construct and engineer their own boats and bridges then test them, and improve upon their designs while learning about other historic “fails”.
Create Classic Games debuts this summer too. In this camp, kids will have the opportunity to create their own versions of old-school games like battling robots, “Plinko,” or a pinball machine.
Home Hacks for Kids is the next brand new camp taking place this summer. Kids can create a mini vacuum, work with a team to make a model toilet, construct a working oven and then test it, and make other everyday items.
There are still spots left in many of our summer camps. To see the full camp schedule visit the summer camps page.
