Announcing: The WasteShed Summer Camp
A grinning child holds up a piece of paper in front of their face that reads “The WasteShed Summer Camp, July 28th - Aug 1st, Aug 4th - Aug 8th”
This summer, The WasteShed is launching its first summer day camp, Camp WasteShed!
Camp Wasteshed will be a hands-on, exploratory experience for youth ages 8–13. The themes of Camp WasteShed are “City Garden Futures” and “Camp Imaginary Worlds”.
The camp will run Monday through Friday, 9:00am–3:00pm from July 28th, 2025 to Aug 8, 2025, and is designed to foster creativity, confidence, and environmental awareness through the lens of creative reuse. Camp WasteShed will be hosted at The WasteShed’s headquarters located in Humboldt Park (1754 N. Kimball Ave, Chicago, IL 60647).
Campers will explore unconventional and reclaimed materials, learning to prototype, build, and imagine new possibilities for everyday objects. Through this process, campersl develop (1) problem-solving skills, (2) materials literacy, and (3) an understanding of sustainability, all while having fun in a safe and supportive environment.
The camp is facilitated by Emily Prescott (The WasteShed - Evanston General Manager) and Grace Diepenbrock (The WasteShed Board Secretary), who bring years of experience in art- and craft-making, youth engagement, and community-based arts education programming. With additional support from two junior camp counselors, Emily and Grace will guide up to 12 campers per week through project-based activities, tool and materials exploration, and collaborative design prompts.
Campers will also participate in short neighborhood field trips to local parks, and community spaces, connecting their creative practice with the broader Humboldt Park neighborhood.
For more information and to sign up, please see our interest form.
This is a limited pilot program and we are unfortunately unable to offer scholarships for this season, but the signup form has an option to be notified about next year’s sessions which will have scholarships available.