At Home Science

What are the best ways for your child to spend their summer?

Best Ways for Your Child to Spend Their Summer

As the summer months approach, parents everywhere are thinking about how to keep their kids entertained, engaged, and learning while they’re on break. Summer is a time for kids to explore new interests, develop skills, and create lasting memories. The summer is also a time when parents are looking for things to do with kids in Chicago, Seattle, and other major cities in the U.S. But with so many options available, parents are often left wondering how do you choose the best activities for your child?

The answer is simple: Summer camps that combine fun with learning!

Whether you’re in Seattle or Chicago, we have programs tailored to help your child’s curiosity and creativity thrive this summer. Let’s dive into the best ways for your child to spend their summer, starting with our science summer camps.

At Kids Science Labs, we offer exciting summer camps that focus on STEM education—science, technology, engineering, and math—providing your child with the opportunity to discover the wonders of the world while having a blast.

Science Summer Camps

Summer is the perfect time to dive into science! Kids Science Labs is considered to be a top choice, and they are designed to make learning fun through hands-on experiments, engaging challenges, and exciting projects. If you are looking for science summer camp ideas for elementary students, Kids Science Labs is perfect for that too becuase they invite children ages 4 and up and have activities catered to each age range.

Since 2010, Kids Science Lab camps are all about discovery and hands on learning. Kids explore a range of scientific concepts by conducting experiments, building innovative projects, and solving real-world problems. The goal? To inspire the next generation of innovators, thinkers, and problem-solvers. Our teachers make learning exciting, engaging  and accessible, ensuring your child has a fun, interactive experience that they’ll remember long after summer ends.

With a focus on hands-on activities and interactive learning, our science summer camps help kids:

  • Explore chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering in ways that feel like play.

  • Build real-world projects like bridges, rockets, and circuits.

  • Develop critical thinking skills and confidence through teamwork and problem-solving.

Seattle Summer Programs

For families in Seattle, Kids Science Labs offers the perfect way to make your child's summer both fun and educational. Our Seattle summer programs are designed to help kids discover their passions in science while engaging in exciting projects and experiments. Whether they’re interested in robotics, building structures, or learning about the natural world, there’s something for every curious mind.

Our Seattle summer programs cater to kids of all ages, from elementary school through middle school, ensuring that each child receives the right level of challenge and fun. With a range of flexible schedules, including full-day and half-day options, you can easily find a program that fits your family's summer plans. From hands-on science experiments to team-based projects, our Seattle summer camps provide a perfect balance of learning and fun.

Highlights of our Seattle summer programs include:

  • Exploring technology and engineering through robotics and coding challenges.

  • Learning about physics and chemistry by creating and testing experiments.

  • Hands-on activities that nurture problem-solving skills, creativity, and collaboration.

Other Seattle Summer Programs Include: 

  1. Seattle Childrens Theater

  2. Wilderness Awareness School

  3. Camp Tech Revolution

  4. Seattle Parks and Recreation Camps 

Chicago Summer Programs

For families in Chicago, Kids Science Labs offers some of the best STEM camps in the area. If you’re looking for Chicago STEM camps that combine hands-on learning with fun activities, our summer programs are a fantastic choice. With a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math, our Chicago summer programs allow kids to dive deep into the world of STEM, building projects and exploring new concepts every day.

Whether your child is an aspiring scientist, engineer, or tech enthusiast, our Chicago summer camps provide a dynamic, engaging environment that nurtures curiosity and fosters a love of learning. Our camps cover a variety of exciting topics, from chemistry and biology to robotics and programming, all while providing plenty of opportunities for kids to socialize, collaborate, and grow.

Key highlights of our Chicago summer programs include:

  • Engaging projects that involve building robots, creating circuits, and designing structures.

  • Interactive lessons in chemistry, biology, and physics through hands-on experiments.

  • Fun, social environments where kids can make new friends while learning.

Whether you’re looking for a Chicago STEM camp focused on technology and innovation or a program that explores the natural sciences, our summer programs are tailored to meet your child’s interests and help them build new skills.

Other Chicago Summer Programs Include:

  1. Chicago Park District Camps 

  2. Camp Tech Revolution

  3. YMCA Summer Camp

  4. Pedal Heads Camp 


At Kids Science Labs, we believe that summer is a time for kids to explore, experiment, and grow. Our science summer camps provide the perfect combination of fun and learning, helping children develop a lifelong love for science and discovery. Whether you’re in Seattle or Chicago, our camps offer the best way for your child to spend their summer—engaged, inspired, and excited about the world of science!

Ready to sign your child up for a summer of fun and learning? Explore our summer camp options in Seattle and Chicago today and reserve your spot before space runs out!

What would happen if I used shampoo soap in our dishwasher? (Chemistry Products - CFK)

Chemistry doesn’t always make a mess, it cleans them too! Some things mix and some things don’t. Soap is a surfactant that helps things mix and it is the superhero that helps us clean. Ironically, there are literally over 1,000 types of soap, each that has its own features from thickness to order and grease fighting ability. In this camp, we explored the results and outcomes of hands-on science, by mixing and creating our own unique soaps, designed to meet the needs of rugged kids everywhere! Soap is a chemistry innovation for everyone!

In inspiring kids to think about how chemistry is used in our daily activities, our students investigated:

  • the key purpose of soap, and how surfactants like soap allow otherwise immiscible liquids like oils and water to mix

  • why one soap solution (laundry detergent) does not work as a hand soap, because they have very different properties

  • why both hand sanitizer and soap kill germs, but only one of them actually has the power to clean and separate things from the surfaces of our skin

  • how the selection of different ingredients can drastically modify the features of any liquid or bar soap

We love hands-on science, design, and innovation at Kids Science Labs and encourage every member of our community to take advantage of your member benefits, including discounts on future parties and camps, exclusive content, and becoming part of KSL Academy. Email us at support@kidssciencelabs.com or call at 773-798-2012 for more info!

Is there an actual purpose of types of slime, other than making kids laugh?

Making Different Types of Slime is essential experimentation at Kids Science Labs

Slimes are fun, and slime kits even more engaging, but slime has a real function for animals to defend against attack, ridding your body of germs, and even helping make your toast sweet. Jams, sunbutters, and saliva are all types of slimes that are viscous (thick), sticky (cohesive/adhesive) and wet. On this day, our students made slimes that solve a problem, and explored the elements inside those viscous (thick) liquids in our refrigerator that make them so much fun.

Our young scientists in our Seattle Summer Camps explore the hands-on science below

  • How to adjust the ratios of elements to change a chemical’s properties using hands-on science

  • When a substance is or is not a slime, based a simple three-part test (Is it viscous? Is it sticky? Is it wet?)

  • Comparing the relative viscosity (thickness) of any two liquids, using a simple incline plane to compare their speed rolling down a slight hill.

A Slime Kit is often a child’s second science experiment after exploring the textures of food as a toddler

Toddlers often frustrate parents by mixing beans and mashed potatoes instead of just eating these healthy foods, however, its science. Kids are curious and want to know about the textures and makeup of foods, and essentially can start a child’s science adventure into the world of Chemical Reactions. As parents, we don’t think about it often, but boiling eggs are a chemical reaction, as is burning butter and making toast, because we are changing the structure of matter. Rather than shoo kids out of the kitchen, parents can use the moment to teach them about how matter can change…and you don’t need to be a science expert to explore curiosity.

Chemical Reactions can be found everywhere in ChemBusters, one of our most popular Seattle Summer Camp experiences for Kids

If your child is always looking to explore chemistry, check out ChemBusters this summer here and boost your child’s confidence and unlock their curiosity with a Kids Science Labs Summer Camp in Seattle.

Watch the video below for an episode of Science Max for Kids about all types of chemical reactions, including real applications of slime and please don’t forget your Science Kit, which is customized by your child every Wednesday at Kids Science Labs, to enable at home science and create new neuroscience pathways that increase the fun and build real confidence with hands-on science. ….

As members, please take advantage of our KSL Rewards Program that offers benefits to our entire community. Call us at (773-798-2012 or email support@kidssciencelabs.com) and mention “KSL Blog”

  • 10% off any new program registration (parties, camps, group events, field trips) after this camp

  • Free access to KSL Academy Programs for gifted and enthusiastic young scientists

  • Social media raffle for members to win birthday party giveaways at Kids Science Labs

  • Exclusive members-only Youtube content that powers kids to outperform in STEM long-term and on NGSS tests in 3rd, 5th, and 7th grade!

What would happen if I used shampoo soap in our dishwasher?

Chemistry doesn’t always make a mess, it cleans them too! Some things mix and some things don’t. Soap is a surfactant that helps things mix and it is the superhero that helps us clean. Ironically, there are literally over 1,000 types of soap, each that has its own features from thickness to order and grease fighting ability. In this camp, we explored the results and outcomes of hands-on science, by mixing and creating our own unique soaps, designed to meet the needs of rugged kids everywhere! Soap is a chemistry innovation for everyone!

In inspiring kids to think about how chemistry is used in our daily activities, our students investigated:

  • the key purpose of soap, and how surfactants like soap allow otherwise immiscible liquids like oils and water to mix

  • why one soap solution (laundry detergent) does not work as a hand soap, because they have very different properties

  • why both hand sanitizer and soap kill germs, but only one of them actually has the power to clean and separate things from the surfaces of our skin

  • how the selection of different ingredients can drastically modify the features of any liquid or bar soap

We love hands-on science, design, and innovation at Kids Science Labs and encourage every member of our community to take advantage of your member benefits, including discounts on future parties and camps, exclusive content, and becoming part of KSL Academy. Email us at support@kidssciencelabs.com or call at 773-798-2012 for more info!