Spring & Summer Camps at the Idaho State Museum!
Camps are a great way to provide hands-on learning opportunities for your family! Have a blast with camps at the Idaho State Museum. Experience history like never before as you play, explore, and make new friends. Spring and Summer camps are offered annually at the Idaho State Museum near the heart of downtown Boise. Register for week-long camps or single-day camps online. Camp activities incorporate STEM learning and tie into K-5 learning curriculum.
COVID Protocols for Camps:
- All camps will be kept to a 20-student maximum.
- Activities will take place in the classroom as well as outside in the Museum’s Pioneer Village space and Julia Davis Park. Lunch will be eaten outside each day.
- The museum is following CDC guidance regarding masking and social distancing.
- Classroom spaces and the Museum’s Exhibits are sanitized throughout the day. Hand sanitizer and handwashing will be encouraged.
- If a camper or anyone in their immediate family is feeling ill, please stay home! Parents or guardians can email shseducation@ishs.idaho.gov or call 208-334-2120 and we will work to place you in another day of camp when you are feeling better.
CONTACT US
(208) 334-2120
LOCATION
610 Julia Davis Dr.
Boise, ID 83702
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Camp Registration is required two weeks in advance of the first day of camp.
Camp Minimum: 5 students | Camp Maximum: 20 students
2023 Spring Break Camps
Camp Pricing
$70/camper per day, non-members | $60/camper per day, ISHS members
Weeklong discount is $25 off
Free time for campers offered 8am to 9am and 4pm to 5pm
Ages 6-11 | 8 am-5 pm
What was that artifact used for? Who came before us and how did they live? Campers will become history detectives as they investigate artifacts to learn more about the past. Clues throughout the museum will help detectives piece together the facts and learn more about Idaho’s stories.
Ages 6-11 | 8 am-5 pm
Trees blanket Idaho’s landscape. Journey into our forest ecosystem to explore how people have shaped the state through forest management and unique innovations. Campers will identify pieces of a firefighter’s uniform, create a tree weaving, and learn about fire safety.
Ages 6-11 | 8 am-5 pm
Exploring the Idaho State Museum’s temporary exhibit, campers will discover how Indigenous knowledge works with cutting-edge science to create solutions. Learning about storytelling, native plants, and more, campers will examine how Native Nations protect and restore the environment in Idaho.
Ages 6-11 | 8 am-5 pm
Mountain bluebirds, sockeye salmon, mountain goats, and parachuting beavers—Idaho has a wide variety of feathered, furred, and scaly animals. Campers will learn more about the animals who share our state, see if they can design a parachute for a beaver, decorate a home for a feathered friend, and more!
Ages 6-11 | 8 am-5 pm
Salmon runs, irrigation systems, and a town lit by nuclear energy? Campers will consider how innovation changed Idaho, and what we can invent in the future to better the lives of Idahoans. Build a dam, hack a notebook, and explore the power of potatoes!
2023 Summer Camps
Camp Pricing
$70/camper per day, non-members | $60/camper per day, ISHS members
Receive a $15 discount for signing up for all three days by entering discount code “ALL3” at checkout.
Free time for campers offered 8am to 9am and 4pm to 5pm
Ages 6-11 | 8am-5pm
Dinosaurs once walked in Boise, marine reptiles swam in Lewiston, and volcanoes spewed forth lava near Pocatello. Campers will learn about Idaho’s amazing geologic past that stretches back hundreds of millions of years. There will be a mini fossil dig, rock and mineral identification, geode cracking, and more!
Ages 6-11 | 8am-5pm
How do you express yourself? How did people express themselves in the past? Throughout Idaho’s history there have always been makers and creators working in a variety of mediums. Campers will learn about different Idaho artists and methods and leave confident in their creator abilities!
Ages 6-11 | 8am-5pm
How did children pass time before the PS5? Put yourself in the shoes of children from Idaho—from the deep past to now! Campers will build toys using simple materials, play games from a wide variety of cultures in Idaho, and celebrate school spirit.
Ages 6-11 | 8am-5pm
What do Lewis and Clark and flying beavers have in common? Come get wild with us at the Idaho State Museum to find out! Campers will explore the wild landscapes that make Idaho such a unique state. Travel through the Museum’s exhibits and learn about the plants, animals, and people that call these places home.
Ages 6-11 | 8am-5pm
Explore the Roots of Wisdom exhibit, here through September 2023, and much more! Campers will build a river, listen to and share campfire stories, and try their hand at weaving. Join us in play and investigation to learn how Native Nations protect and restore the environment in Idaho.
Ages 6-11 | 8am-5pm
Water is essential to life and essential to having fun! From dams to rafting down rivers, campers will float a boat, pan for gold, and learn about aquatic creatures in Idaho! Be prepared to make a splash.
2023 Partner Summer Camps
Ages 11-17 | 9am-2:30pm
Calling the next Ken Burns! How do historians communicate stories about the past? Though books and articles continue to educate people about the past, documentary films about history have increased in recent decades. Campers will learn about documentary film making, the history of film in Idaho, how to conduct historical research, and will create history-focused film projects! Registration required through NW
Film Camp.
Pricing $350 for non-members, $300 for ISHS members
Contact us at shseducation@ishs.idaho.gov for ISHS member discount code
Register through NW Film Camp: https://www.hisawyer.com/North-West-Film-Camp/schedules/activity-set/416350
Ages 7-11 | 9am-4pm
Pricing $450 for non-members, $420 for member of any institution
Register through Discovery Center of Idaho: https://46684a.blackbaudhosting.com/46684a/Park-Explorers
Explore Julia Davis Park! Visit a different cultural institution each day. Partners include: Boise Art Museum, Zoo Boise, Idaho State Museum, and the Discovery Center of Idaho. A detailed schedule will be provided. Participants will begin and end each day at the Idaho State Museum. Registration required through Discovery Center of Idaho at www.dcidaho.org and registration deadline is July 30, 2023.
Camp Refunds
If you cancel your registration prior to two weeks before the session date you will receive a full refund. Cancellations within the two-week window will be subject to partial refunds on a case-by-case basis.
If a camper or anyone in their immediate family is feeling ill, please stay home! Parents or guardians can email shseducation@ishs.idaho.gov or call 208-334-2120 and we will work to place you in another day of camp when you are feeling better.