Creative Camps offer the perfect opportunity to keep your little one's creativity going all throughout the summer months! From visual arts and music to theater and dance, the best creative summer camps in Chicago provide a nurturing environment for children to explore their passions, develop new skills, and make lasting memories.

Summer's best Creative Camps offer exciting and engaging activities that make learning fun and memorable, and offer opportunities for kids to connect with other kids who share similar interests, fostering friendships and social connections. The benefits of an inspiring summer camp can last a lifetime!

Our Camp Guide is packed with incredible Creative Camps, and here we've rounded up some of this summer's best options. You can find a full range of options in our Summer Camp Guide, including creative camps for art, dance, music and theater.

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Featured Creative Camps:



Summer Art Adventures at the Paintbrush
ARTsy kids ages 4-10 will love spending their summer weeks immersed in ART at The Paintbrush. Kids learn by doing. Explore ART through a variety of approaches including drawing, painting, ARTist-inspired projects,, weekly tie-dye day and slime day, games and more!
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A Summer of Circus Magic Awaits at CircEsteem - Sign Up Today!
CircEsteem Summer Circus Camp invites children into a world of circus arts, where they can safely explore aerial silks, trapeze, tumbling, and more in a nurturing environment. Each week offers a new theme, helping kids build confidence, teamwork, and self-esteem. With games, songs, and arts & crafts, every day is filled with fun and creativity. The week culminates in a "Show Off" performance, where kids proudly present their newfound skills to family and friends. Let your child experience the magic of the circus right at CircEsteem! *Financial aid available to qualifying applicants. Weekly camps run from June 16th through August 29th.
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Award-Winning Porchlight Music Theatre's Summer Camp
Porchlight Summer Camps are back and bigger than ever for ages 4 -17! Join us for foundation classes - Mini Musicals, Broadway Basics, and Intermediate Ensemble - to grow skills in acting, singing and dancing and then apply them in Porchlight Youth Presents: Seussical, JR. New this summer, along with our Broadway Singing and Dance Intensives for ages 14 - 17 we're excited to offer PMTeens - a one of a kind opportunity for 12 performers to receive professional theatre training, exclusive masterclasses and to perform as part of our Broadway in your Backyard free summer concert series alongside professional actors in summer 2025. Chicago Kids families can use the code CHIKIDS at checkout for $50 off their summer camp purchase!
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Lookingglass Theatre Camps: Make Summer Magic!
Through drama and creative play, Summergglass campers make new plays exploring the inventive visual storytelling that makes this Tony Award-winning theatre so special. With puppets, circus and scavenger hunts, campers will build their own original stories, learn new skills, and create their own dream roles. Make something special this summer with Summerglass camps!
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Merit School of Music Summer Camps
Turn up the music this summer with Merit School of Music! With options for all ages, instruments and experience levels, summer at Merit is a great way for kids to stay social and creative while school is out. Your child will have the chance to study with some of the best music educators in the region while having fun and making friends with young music lovers from across Chicagoland.
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Imagine Performing Arts
Imagine Performing Arts offers 1-week theatre camps for ages 4-13 all summer long. Our camps focus on teaching basic theatre concepts and building performance skills. Each session features a specific theme on which campers will devise their own play. Along with a professional teaching artist, our campers work together with their peers to play age-appropriate drama games designed to stimulate their imaginations, encourage being in the moment, and build a strong theatrical foundation. Our campers collaborate to devise an original story, develop unique characters, learn musical numbers to popular Broadway songs, and perform in an informal presentation for parents at the end of the week.
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Wild Ruckus Summer Drama Camps at Lifeline Theatre
Join us at Lifeline Theatre this summer as we work together to build magical worlds unlike our own as creatures and bugs of the forest. Construct creative characters, imagine new worlds, and go on theatrical adventures!
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School of the Art Institute of Chicago Summer Camps
Combining creativity with fun, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's (SAIC) camps offer exciting projects and include daily visits to the Art Institute of Chicago museum. Kids learn to discover, explore, and imagine in their own unique ways, experimenting with a variety of art materials and methods that encourage the development of creative thinking and problem-solving skills.
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Find more options in our 2025 Summer Camp Guide.