Coding is important to learn not only because it cultivates critical thinking, creativity, and computational thinking skills, but also because it sets students up for success to go into a lucrative career with many options to choose from in a rapidly growing industry. So today, we'll share some of the the best coding summer camps for all ages and interests!
Summer camps are a great way to learn how to code because they provide students with a fun learning experience and provide some structure over the long break. While there are excellent in-person camps, we highly recommend virtual coding summer camps because they offer the greatest flexibility for students to be able learn from the best teachers from all over the country, all from the comfort of their own home.
Check out the best coding summer camps
The following coding summer camp recommendations were created with a student’s holistic development in mind, and meets kids where they are in regards to an age appropriate curriculum and their coding abilities. All camps are live and virtual so that students' questions can be answered immediately in the moment. This is ideal considering if just one letter is wrong in a student's code nothing will run. Live virtual camps ensure students don’t get held up for long periods of time, and can talk to a real human for guidance.
The below camps were created by experts from Google, MIT, and Stanford, and have been recognized by HulaFrog and parents worldwide as the Most Loved 2021 Virtual Learning program and won a Best of 2021 award from ActivityHero!
Explore the best coding summer camps for elementary school kids
Learning coding is similar to learning a new language - the earlier you start the more you retain as you grow older. Check out the wide variety of camps geared towards elementary school kids in grades K-5.
1. Scratch Ninja
Scratch is the ideal way to introduce students to coding and get them more interested in how it works. In this fun interactive camp students learn the basics of how to code games and animations with drag-and-drop coding blocks! Students learn foundational coding concepts, and are encouraged to think critically and use their creativity while coding a special project in each session.
Format: Live online for 55 minutes per session
Best for: Beginner coders with no previous experience
Grades: 2-5
Prerequisite: None
2. Minecraft Redstone Engineering
Does your child enjoy Minecraft? If so, check this camp out! In this fun one-of-a-kind camp students learn how to identify and utilize the rare Minecraft element: Redstone - to engineer powerful inventions. In addition to engineering techniques in the world of Minecraft, students learn about real-world engineering concepts!
Format: Live online for 55 minutes a session
Best for: Students interested in Minecraft
Grades: 2-5
Prerequisite: None
3. Junior Robotics
Enjoy an introductory camp to robotics designed for kids. This VEX robotics camp teaches students how coding is used in robotics through fun, hands-on projects, and how robots can solve real-world problems. Students will be introduced to the basics of VEX Code and programming in a 3D virtual environment, and complete challenges in complicated virtual worlds with obstacles, using sensors. No physical robot is required for this class.
Format: Live online for 55 minutes a session
Best for: Kids that want to make something physical and enjoy smart devices
Grades: 2-4
Prerequisite: Students need to have completed Scratch Ninja 1 & 2
4. Minecraft Modding Quest
Built on top of the regular Minecraft game, Minecraft: Education Edition includes additional features to teach kids coding and problem-solving in an immersive environment where creativity and collaboration are encouraged. Our carefully designed online modding camp covers a broad set of coding concepts, from basic stacking commands to building complex structures and mini-games through coding. Build your own battle game that fights off zombies, and see who is better at the rock, paper, scissors game built you build in Minecraft!
Format: Live online for 55 minutes a session
Best for: Kids interested in Minecraft and game development
Grades: 3-6
5. Beginner Roblox Game Coding
This camp was designed to be an introduction to coding games in the ever popular Roblox gaming platform (with over 40 million games)! This specific Roblox coding camp is the only one of its kind to teach Roblox coding without the complicated game development tool Lua, which is most commonly used for Roblox coding. Students learn these skills through building multiple fun games in a supportive environment led by an expert teacher.
Format: Live online for 75 minutes per session
Best for: Kids that want to learn about Roblox
Grades: 3-8
Prerequisite: Completion of Scratch Ninja 4 or equivalent of advanced coding experience
Explore the best coding summer camps for middle school kids
Check out engaging and fun summer camps for kids in grades 6-8, for all skill levels.
6. Accelerated Scratch
Accelerated Scratch is a live online camp designed for the novice coder who is in grades 5-9. Studies have proven that students who are new to coding do better starting with block-based coding like Scratch. This class offers a series of compressed Scratch coding sessions that equip students with key coding concepts in just eight sessions, each with a fun project including games and animations.
Format: Live online for 55 minutes per session
Best for: Middle-school aged students who want to start coding
Grades: 5-9
Prerequisite: None
7. Mobile Coding for Apps and Games
This camp provides students with the skills to create their own unique mobile applications. Students will learn a variety of exciting skills including but not limited to design layout and UI, how to enable UI elements for event handling, how to use different mobile features like a touch screen, how to make multi-user apps, and much more! This is all achieved through building fun projects and games in a camp size of 2-3 students max, led by an expert teacher.
Format: Live online for 55 minutes per session
Best for: Kids that want to learn how to build mobile apps
Grades: 4-9
Prerequisite: Completion of Scratch Ninja 2 or equivalent coding experience
8. Create with AI: ChatGPT Secrets for Kids
This live online interactive course designed by experts from Google, Stanford, and MIT, helps students understand what ChatGPT is and introduces them to effective ways of using ChatGPT. Together with ChatGPT, students will plan something fun, honing their systematic and critical thinking skills while developing essential executive functions. Moreover, they'll learn how to use ChatGPT to enhance their writing abilities and unleash their creativity, enabling them to craft captivating storylines, and they'll master the art of delivering powerful messages through well-structured sentences. Students will also have the opportunity to code their very own ChatBot using this remarkable technology. Throughout the course, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the power of ChatGPT, its practical applications, and the ethical considerations associated with AI usage.
Format: Live online for 55 minutes per session
Best for: Kids that want to learn a new technology
Grades: 4-8
Prerequisite: None required, Scratch recommended
9. Modern Website Design with Wix
Does the student in your life ever talk about wanting to create their own websites? Create & Learn made this camp to teach students all the skills they need to build their own website with the leading free website building platform, Wix. This class covers a wide range of web design topics including how to structure your website, design your layout, choose color schemes, and create an online storefront. Websites can be used as a virtual portfolio, to showcase school or community events, help local businesses or nonprofits, and really anything you put your mind to!
Format: Live online for 75 minutes per session
Best for: Kids that want answers fast and live guidance to learn how to build their own websites
Grades: 4-9
Prerequisite: None, but Scratch Ninja and Canva for Kids are suggested
10. Python for AI
Master Python, an essential coding language, in a supportive environment led by an expert teacher. In this advanced coding camp, students will learn not only the advanced coding language of Python, but also the elements of Python that are most relevant to the increasingly-important field of artificial intelligence. Python is used by companies like Netflix and Google for web development, game development, building apps, machine learning, and much more!
Format: Live online for 55 minutes per session
Best for: Kids who want to learn a real-world programming language
Grades: 5-12
Prerequisite: Advanced Scratch Coding or Minecraft Modding experience
11. Coding with Roblox Studio in Lua
Does your child love Roblox and have prior experience coding Roblox games? If so, this class is a great fit to equip your child with advanced Roblox coding skills! Students will learn how to use the advanced scripting language Lua to create games, solve puzzles, and more in this fun class. Special skills like how to configure properties of objects like color and texture, how to create multi-player games, and how to create economies are just a few of the exciting features taught in this class.
Format: Live online for 70 minutes per session
Best for: Tweens and teens who are familiar with Roblox
Grades: 6-12
Prerequisite: Advanced Scratch Coding or Minecraft Modding experience
Explore the best coding summer camps for high school teens
Check out these award-winning, challenging, and diverse live online coding camps for high-school aged students.
12. Build Your Web
Learn the intricacies of how the internet works and how to contribute to the world wide web in this fun hands-on web building camp. Students will learn HTML and CSS, how to build websites with Javascript, and much more. If your teen wants to cultivate advanced coding skills through building websites this is the perfect camp for them!
Format: Live online for 55 minutes per session
Best for: Kids interested in building their own highly customized websites
Grades: 5-12
Prerequisite: Completion of Scratch Ninja 3 or coding equivalent
13. Data Science with Python and Pandas
Python and Pandas are a powerful combination of platforms that when used correctly provide students with superb data analyzation and drawing business insights. In this hands-on analytic camp students learn how to manipulate data. The ability to effectively analyze data and use it to inform decisions is a critical skill for a variety of professions including lawyers, doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, journalists, and more.
Format: Live online for 75 minutes per session
Best for: Kids who want to understand how to analyze complex data
Grades: 5-12
Prerequisite: Completion of Python for AI or equivalent experience
14. Unity Game Development
Did you know Unity is the most popular game engine in the world? If your child has ever wondered how professionals develop games with sophisticated features and design, this is it! This advanced game building camp covers a wide range of topics including how to navigate the Unity ecosystem to build 2D/3D games from scratch, complete behavioral and object scripting, and much more.
Format: Live online for 70 minutes per session
Best for: Students who want to learn game building
Grades: 5-12
Prerequisite: Basic knowledge of text-based coding such as Python, Javascript, or Java
15. AP Computer Science Principles (meets AP CSP College Board requirements)
In this preparatory class for the AP CSP Exam, students learn a broad range of fundamental exam topics including how to design and evaluate solutions, and how to apply computer science to solve problems through developing algorithms and programs. This class was developed by AP computer science educators and meets the requirements for the AP CSP exam as defined by the College Board.
Format: Live online for 70 minutes per session
Best for: Students who want to prepare for the AP CSP exam
Grades: 6-12
Prerequisite: Completion of Python for AI or equivalent coding experience
16. AP Computer Science Java (meets AP CSA college board requirements)
This rigorous Java class was adapted by Lead Curriculum Developer Jamila Cocchiola from the new Code.org AP CSA curriculum (certified by College Board) to better fit our online format and student needs. This class is a highly thorough introduction to Java programming and covers a wide range of topics like the design of solutions to problems, the use of data structures to organize large sets of data, and the development and implementation of algorithms to process data. These skills and many more are put into practice through fun project-based learning!
Format: Live online for 90 minutes per session
Best for: Students who want to prepare for the AP CSA exam
Grades: 6-12
Prerequisite: Completion of Python for AI or equivalent coding experience
Get started with the best coding summer camps
Looking for more ideas for coding summer camps? Explore all of our award-winning summer online coding camps and find the best fit to equip your child with the right coding skills today! Want to learn how to make the most out of your summer coding camp? Read how to have a great virtual summer camp experience!
