Welcome to the 2022 summer camp season at Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History! Where else can kids wander among real dinosaurs, be encouraged to make a mess, paint with artists, or conduct their own scientific experiments? From throwing a clay pot to identifying specimens from the natural world, Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History offer a range of in-person activities for creative kids and nature lovers alike in a safe environment. Campers will be expected to adhere to the public health guidance and Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh procedures in place at the time of their camp. Please review our Frequently Asked Questions and COVID-19 safety measures.
Featured Camps: Ages 8-10 |
Choose Your Own Adventure
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYImmerse yourself in a choose-your-own-adventure experience and unravel the Mystery of the Missing Artifact. Work as a team to collect clues and use forensic science techniques to interpret the evidence. Discover hidden secrets of the museum and go behind the scenes to follow the leads. Choose a path and see where it takes you!
No camp on July 4. Camp is in session on July 5-8.
The last day to register for this camp is June 29, 2022.
Extreme Events
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYEarthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and more—they’ve all changed life on our planet over and over again. Discover how people and ecosystems have responded to extreme events throughout geologic time. Construct model lava flows, asteroid impacts, and volcanoes. Build a model city and put it to the test with a mega-quake-tsunami challenge on Friday.
The last day to register for this camp is July 6, 2022.
Animal Olympics
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYThe Olympic Games just got wild! Find out who goes for the gold across the animal kingdom. Is a flea or a kangaroo better at the high jump? Would the gorilla or the fennec fox take the prize in a 100-meter dash? How would your skills stack up? Celebrate the global games by exploring habitats from the African Savanna to the Arctic Circle. Transform the classroom into an Olympic stadium to play physical games and take on friendly design challenges to see how your skills stack up to those of the animal kingdom!
The last day to register for this camp is July 13, 2022.
Creatures and Creations
Create a creature! Go on the hunt for creatures in the paintings and sculptures of Carnegie Museum of Art's galleries! After studying these strange and sometimes imagined animals, you’ll think about where they might live and what they might eat. Visit animal dioramas in Carnegie Museum of Natural History for even more ideas. Use these adventurous expeditions as inspiration to imagine, design, sketch, and sculpt a super creature who might inhabit a place in the art! Capture your creature in a photo in its museum habitat and collaborate with fellow campers on a creature-zine featuring every critter from camp!
The last day to register for this camp is July 20, 2022.
Eco Engineers
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYNature builds things up and tears them down—and so can you! Explore how humans and animals construct homes, buildings, and dens. Construct a classroom compost bin to delve into decomposition, and conduct an experiment to test the strength of the pyramids. Throughout the week, you’ll undertake a habitat design challenge using only naturally available resources, plus visit Laurel Caverns to gain inspiration from a masterpiece made by nature.
Field trip to Laurel Caverns: Museum pick-up at 4 p.m.
The last day to register for this camp is July 20, 2022.
Passport Adventure
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYGrab your passport and get ready for a trek through the foreign lands of the museum. Learn how to survive a night in the frozen arctic and how to stay cool in the heat of the Sahara. Discover cultural cuisine and taste test unusual foods from around the world. Navigate through Schenley Park using only a compass, and try your hand at games from all around the globe.
The last day to register for this camp is July 20, 2022.
Jurassic Planet
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYA summer camp adventure 65 million years in the making! Piece together prehistoric evidence as you investigate how dinosaurs lived and why they died. Extract DNA from modern-day relatives of dinosaurs. Take a hike through the museum and nearby Schenley Park to compare today’s world to that of the dinosaurs. Build a full habitat, complete with life-size dinosaur murals to transform your classroom into Jurassic Planet.
The last day to register for this camp is July 27, 2022.
Make Art Move
Join us at the museum for a movement-filled art-making week! Use movement as inspiration for mark-making as you move through the galleries to find ideas for your experiments. Explore moving artworks and create your own! Use your feet, your hands, and your body to create sculptures that move, paintings that vibrate, and a parade performance through the galleries. Invite your family and friends to join in our moving gallery celebration.
The last day to register for this camp is July 27, 2022.
Extreme Events
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYEarthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and more—they’ve all changed life on our planet over and over again. Discover how people and ecosystems have responded to extreme events throughout geologic time. Construct model lava flows, asteroid impacts, and volcanoes. Build a model city and put it to the test with a mega-quake-tsunami challenge on Friday.
The last day to register for this camp is August 3, 2022.
Get Lost
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYLearn survival and orienteering techniques that will help you find your way around. Survey the sky for navigational signs and learn how to properly use a map and compass. Investigate the survival adaptations of animals and develop your own safety skills. Discover treasures in and around the museum using handheld GPS units on a geocaching adventure. Put your newfound skills to the test on an extended day trip to Powdermill Nature Reserve, the museum’s environmental research center.
Day trip to Powdermill Nature Reserve: museum pick up at 6:30 p.m. Late afternoon snack provided.
The last day to register for this camp is August 3, 2022.
Out-of-this-World Architecture
If aliens built a city, what would it look like? Use your imagination and your most far-out ideas to create an urban landscape from another planet. What do your alien friends need in their city? How is it different from or similar to the world you live in on earth? Use the collection at Carnegie Museum of Art to look for interesting shapes, colors, and materials to incorporate into your design.
The last day to register for this camp is August 3, 2022.
Art Camp Games Week
Join us for an end-of-summer bonus week featuring fun and games in the art museum. Warm up by sketching inside and outside the museum. Stretch your art endurance as you try drawing, painting, and sculpture. Take your imagination and your skills to the next level as you participate in fun art challenges. These activities will be a relaxing cooldown after a summer full of art camp fun.
The last day to register for this camp is August 10, 2022.
Geology Rocks
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYLevel up your knowledge of rocks as you examine gems, minerals, rocks, and fossils in the lab and throughout the museum. Learn the tools of the geologists’ trade on a rock walk in Schenley Park. Discover surprising ways we use rocks and minerals in everyday life. Experiment with the rock cycle and observe everyday items made from rocks and minerals, plus start your own collection to take home.
The last day to register for this camp is August 10, 2022.
Mad Scientist
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYRoll up your sleeves and prepare to get messy! Make mystery solutions that fizz, pop, and explode. Discover why objects glow in the dark and make fluorescent crystals. Explore the science behind the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Dive into mysteries of the mind and dissect a sheep’s brain. Learn forensic science techniques and use them to solve a museum mystery.
The last day to register for this camp is August 17, 2022.
