Summer Camp at Hagley Museum

Camp Counselors support Camp Instructors during the running of Hagley Summer Camps. These opportunities are for youth volunteers, age range 15-18. This activity will earn approximately 60 hours of volunteer time. Counselors assist with activity set-up, preparation, and clean-up; group management and conflict resolution; and setting a friendly, engaging atmosphere throughout the camp week. There are two camp sessions: July 13-17 and August 3-7. Daily report times are 8:30 am-4:30 pm.

Note:

1) Training is provided in advance of camp week. Attendance at training is mandatory.

2) You must commit to the full week of camp.

3) You will be interviewed for this activity prior to final assignment.

2026 Sessions

July 13 – 17

Life Long Ago Camp (campers aged 7-9) celebrates 250 years of historic lifeways and pastimes. Each day campers will explore different activities that multiple generations of Americans experienced, such toymaking, gardening, dancing, cooking, and fishing. Campers will also experience tasks specific to a black powder factory like firing off a charge of powder, making a water wheel, and working in an 1870s era machine shop. The camp week culminates in a carnival where campers can share what they learned with their families.

STEAM Maker Camp (campers aged 10-12) empowers campers to create! Throughout the week, they’ll learn safe tool and tech skills while building projects like a birdhouse, a sewn tote bag, and a 3D-printed trinket. Campers will practice hands-on, 21st-century making all week, then share their creations with family at a final Maker Expo.

August 3 – 7

STEAM Discovery Camp (campers aged 7-9) sparks campers’ natural curiosity with a week of hands-on challenges and investigations. Each day features a new science theme, such as life science, physics, technology, and engineering. The week ends with a Science Expo where campers share their projects and favorite demos with family.

Before there were makerspaces, early makers were plying their trades. Learning the Trades Camp (campers aged 10-12) offers campers a chance to be trained in many of the different skills and jobs that shaped this nation over the past 250 years. Campers will become powdermen, stone masons, coopers, farmers, mapmakers, printers, and more. A fun “jobs fair” at the end of the week will mark the end of the campers’ apprenticeships as they share their new skills with their families. In 2026, we will celebrate the country's 250th birthday with professions from the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.

If interested, please email camato@hagley.org for more information on how to sign up or express your interest here on Idealist!