Important Summer Camp Details

PLEASE NOTE THAT FOR ALL OF OUR CAMPS, THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT:

Billing and Deposits

  • Summer camp deposits and installments are non-refundable and non-transferrable (see our cancellation policy)

  • Worry Free - We want to reduce the stress of sign up so we charge the balance of camp in 4 installments (Feb, March 1, April 1, May 1)

  • For those that register prior to April 1st, the balance of summer camp will be charged in installments, for all others camp balance is due upon registration. We want to make registration easier and less economically stressful, so we now will charge the balance of camp in monthly installments. An email receipt for the balance will automatically sent to you when it is charged. Any adjustments to enrollment must be made prior to this date. Once each installment is charged it also becomes non-refundable.

  • For each center, when we receive a space for your child, we are blocking another student from joining us for camp. We try to be as flexible as possible, which is why we reserve spaces early in the year (with deposits) and then change the balances as installments. We understand schedules change and try to be fair to all families who are registered and who are on our wait list.

 

Health

  • We make every effort to maintain peanut and tree-nut free facilities at Kids Science Labs and ask that parents pack lunches that are peanut and tree-nut free, as well as being free of chocolates and candy. We also ask parents help in keeping a safe environment for our children by not bringing snacks with nuts or nut oils into Kids Science Labs.

  • We kindly ask that for any child that has a fever, parents consider keeping the child home for that day of camp. If during camp, a child has a fever of 100 degrees or more, is noticeably not feeling well, or has vomited during camp we will contact the parents/caregiver right away to pick them up. We request any student with the symptoms above stay home for 24 hours to avoid transmitting anything contagious to other students

  • Weather permitting, our kids do get to experience outdoor physical activity at KSL in summer camp.

Our engaging teachers build confidence and core science skills that last a lifetime.

 

Timing, Early Care, Extended Day, Pick Up

  • Camp begins at 9am and parents may drop-off as early as 8:45am.

  • Pickup for half-day camp is 12pm, full-day pickup is 3pm.

  • Extended day is only offered in select centers. When offered, such as in the South Loop, Extended Day for the full week is from 3-5pm and if desired, please register in advance for the entire week by selecting that option during sign-up. Cost is $100 if you register in advance. Once camp begins, sign up for extended day is $150/wk. Individual days are not sold. Extended day is offered if minimum enrollment is met for the week.

  • We understand that sometimes parents schedules change and/or there are traffic issues in Chicago. Please let us know as early as possible if you are running late for pick up. The first tardiness is free, beyond that there is a $25 fee. Tardiness is considered beyond 10 minutes late for scheduled pickup. Late pickup charges are automatically charged to your credit card.

  • Please note staff leave the centers by 5:30pm so it is important to hear from you if you are running late.

 

What To Bring to Camp

  • Peanut and Tree-nut Free Snack (we eat snack ~ 10:30am)

  • Peanut and Tree-nut Free Lunch (we eat lunch ~ 12pm)

  • Water Bottle

  • Weather appropriate gear, such as gym shoes, windbreaker, raincoat, and/or sunscreen

Policies

 

Logistics & Student Classroom Assignment

  • When camp registration is full, parents will be able to register for a waiting list. If/when registration spots become available, we will enroll students from the waiting list based on the registration priority.

  • If you are registering more than 1 child for camp or more than 4 weeks of camp, and encounter any difficulty please feel free to call our Customer Support Team at 773-798-2012

  • For each week of summer camp, we review the students registered and customize the room distribution based on grade level. This allows us to give all of our students the best learning environment. Generally speaking, we have a 2-3 yr age range in each room, which has worked very well over the years. This is dependent on the distribution of children enrolled each week.

  • A typical Kids Science Labs learning center has three classrooms (Creativity, Imagination, and Inspiration Labs) and services 40-60 students with 8-10 members of Program Staff and Teaching Faculty. Most weeks will have a classroom distribution where students 4-6, 7-8, and 9-12 are together, depending on the age of campers that week. While the theme is the same in Innovation Camp, the experiments and class discussion is uniquely designed to optimize learning and engagement for each age group at KSL.

 

Discounts for camp

  • Students registering for 4 or more weeks receive (10% off each week). Discounts cannot be combined.

  • After April, we are unable to adjust billing if the discount is not entered as camp balances will be already fully charged.

  • Sibling discounts are available. Please use code “sibling22” for 10% off.




Classroom Assignments & KSL Camp Blog for families

  • Students are typically assigned to a classroom that has students that are grouped by grade level. For example, a typical week of camp will have students in JK/K, 1st/2nd and 3rd-5th grade in the same classroom. Exceptions occur, based on the age distribution of a particular week of camp, but this has generally been try for the past 10 years.

  • Whenever possible, we try to ensure that friends, that are similar grade level, are assigned to the same classroom, so please let us know in advance when your child is registering with friends, so we can note it on our account.

  • We try to accommodate families by keeping siblings together, when their ages are appropriate. However, families should not expect that we can place a 5th grader in the same classroom as a 1st grade sibling, as it would not be an ideal learning environment for either of them.

  • Families can view our KSL Blog to find daily notes on camp topics and it can be found here: https://kidssciencelabs.com/blog . Whenever possible, we will also try to make a takeaway card available during pickup so parents can be aware of what was covered.

How will I know what science experiments were done during camp?

  • On most camp days we will post a daily KSL STEM Blog entry that reviews the experiments and exciting things happening at Kids Science Labs. You can find our camp blog by clicking here. In some cases, we may place a QR code in the parent pickup area or email home a physical science takeaway card like this:

  • Each day of our award-winning summer camp, has two hands-on science classes, one art/design class, an Afternoon Creativity Studio (full-day) for building creativity and problem solving in kids, and an outdoor experience. We also try to find periods of free-choice during the day, as they foster collaboration, and offer our campers free-choice as a means to use their imagination during periods of social interaction, which is essential for long-term physical and mental health, especially during the recent pandemic. You can view a typical Day In the Life of camp below: