Day Camp: Dates, Rates & Themes

Ages:

School Age Children, Entering 1st - 6th grade for most locations. See specific location for more details. Teen Camp offered in some locations.

Dates:

8 - 11 Weeks (Varies by Location)

June 3 - August 16, 2024 (Varies by location)
Week 3: No Camp on Wednesday, June 19th (in observance of Juneteenth)
Week 5: No Camp on Thursday, July 4 or Friday, July 5

Hours:

8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
AM and PM Camp+: flexible wraparound care for registered families if needed. You must be registered for full-day camp in order to add-on these Camp+ options. Availability varies by location

Typical Weekly Rates:

Full-Day Camp:
Member: $230 - $245, varies by location
NonMember: $260 - $275, varies by location
Week 3 + 5: Cost varies due to Holiday closures

AM Camp+: $30
Week 3 + 5: Cost varies due to Holiday closures

PM Camp+: $45
Week 3 + 5: Cost varies due to Holiday closures

Second+Child discounts for 2 or more children from the same family attending the same weeks is 10% off for second+ child. Please contact your camp’s director for more information.

YMCA Financial Assistance

Scholarships or financial assistance is available for summer camp. To request an application, contact your local YMCA Branch or download one from our website at https://ymcacolumbus.org/join/financial-assistance. Requests should be made no later than April 15, 2024. Funding may be limited so it is to your advantage to apply early. Families choosing to apply for YMCA Financial Assistance are asked to submit a denial letter from ODJFS.

Publicly Funded Child Care (PFCC)

The YMCA accepts publicly funded childcare (PFCC) subsidy payments from ODJFS if applicable. Please note that not all camp programs are eligible for PFCC funding. Weekly co-payments must be paid prior to each week. In addition to co-pays, it is the responsibility of a parent/guardian to be consistent with checking in/out of the ODJFS TAP system. Failure to comply with these state mandated requirements may result in removal from the program.

Themes:

Curtain Up	Let your inner performer shine at the YMCA’s very own Talent Week. Find your moment in the spotlight with activities like a lipsync challenge, dance off, improv skits, and a talent show.
Celebrations Around the World	Experience celebrations from different countries and cultures for a full week of camp. Celebrate holidays such as, Hannukuh, Independance days, New Years, Valentine's Day, Halloween and more!
Wild At Art	Look closely and see the beauty that is all around us! Using nature as our tools, anything is possible with imagination. We'll get creative this week with projects such as leaf rubbing art, kindness rocks, and pinecone crafts.
Games, Games, Games	Campers and counselors will face off in a variety of challenges. We will play Friendly Feud, Minute to Win It, and the ultimate test will come when the campers play Are you Smarter than your Camp Counselor? Campers will also have the ability to create their very own games. As well as obstacle courses, and maybe even some messy surprises.
Prehistoric Adventure	Ever wondered what it was like to live thousands of years ago? Hop on board our time machine and find out! We will explore prehistoric times as we play ancient games, create caveman art, hunt dinosaur eggs, and build a time capsule. Come along for the ride!
Superhero Training Camp	Unlock your super powers during this adventure-filled week. Discover the hero in you through challenges, adventures, and good deeds. Grab your mask and capes as we launch ourselves into fun and games!
Water, Water Everywhere	It’s time to get soaked! Splish and splash through an awesome, fun-filled week. Summer is hot, but you’ll stay cool with activities like water sponge games, water relays, slip ‘n slides and more!
Spirit Week	Compete with all your fellow YMCA of Central Ohio campers and show your camp pride! Camp teams will create camp-themed banners, songs, cheers, and mascots then show-off their spirit for a day.
The Great YMCA Cooking Week	From the kitchen to the science lab, food can teach us so many things! Join us for a week of tasty and unique food challenges.
Under The Microscope	Put on your lab coats as we test different scientific theories and myths. Dive into a world of interactive science where day camp is your own laboratory. We’ll have all kinds of science activities, like chemistry experiments, myth busting, and science facts vs. fiction.
The Great Explorer	Become one with nature this week as we learn all about navigating the wilderness and identifying everything thats around us. From bugs to trees to natural formations, learn about what makes being outside the best!
Engineering Zone	Explore your architectural and engineering potential along with your creativity through a variety of introductory STEAM based challenges. We have the blueprint for summer camp success! You’ll enjoy activities such as paper airplane construction, bridge building, structure design, LEGO building, and much more!
Summer Highlight Week	Did you love all of the water games during Splish, Splash week? Did you want to be Super Slimy just one more time this summer? Then you’re in luck! Spend the last week of camp revisiting all of our favorite activities and games as we put the entire summer on rewind.
Through The Decades	Travel through time with themed days and activities from a different decade every day! Destinations may include the Wild West, Medieval Times, a 50's Sock-Hop or even a groovy Tie-Dye Day.
Field Of Friends	Our first week of camp! Get to know your fellow campers through team building activities, icebreakers, brainteasers, riddles, mini-competitions, etc.
Unity Week	Campers unite!! Campers will be able to participant in a PEN PAL program, celebrate friendships, our 4 core values: Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility.
Down To Earth	Discover all the different ways to go green and make better choices for our environment. Campers will create art out of recycled materials, and make recycled paper. Using recycled soda bottles, campers will create terrariums. Do you have a lot of old run down crayons? Bring them in! We will turn them into new crayons.

Unity Week	Campers unite!! Campers will be able to celebrate friendships, and show off their favorite teams. We will be focusing on our 4 core values: Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility in honor of Juneteenth.
Aqua Games	It’s time to get soaked! Splish and splash through an awesome, fun-filled week. Summer is hot, but you’ll stay cool with activities like water sponge games, water relays, slip ‘n slides and more!
Water Games/Swimming	MARCO? This week will focus on the technicalities of different swim strokes and some fun-to-play, large group water games. POLO!
Sports Challenge/Field Day	Who will make it on the Y-Camp podium and earn that gold, silver or bronze medal? These activities are not just athletic events, some may require no athleticism at all! Everyone will have a fair shot at representing a country and competing in some incredible feats of strength, stamina, brains and goofy talent.
Soccer	The worlds most popular sport, Soccer! This week will entail drills, in-game scenarios and scrimmages of all sizes designed to better your power, finesse and dribbling skills.
Nerf	“It’s Y camp or nothin’!” Experience a week of various NERF wars.
Hockey/Lacrosse	America’s oldest sport, the beautiful game of lacrosse will be modified to a non-contact version so campers can develop the fundamentals to play the real thing! We also will be focusing on floor hockey this week and will throw some brave counselors in the goals to provide some added fun!
Flag Football	A week full of hikes, passes and touchdowns, minus the helmets, pads and tackles. Examples of activities: position-specific drills, mini-game scenarios and strategy filled chalk-talks. This week may or may not produce excessive pictures of every camper doing the heisman pose!
Basketball	A week of games, skill-building, and fun all focused on the “original” YMCA sport! Examples of activities: basic skills development (dribbling, shooting, and defensive skills), practice games, knockout, relay games.
Net Sports	Raise the nets high and low! This week delves deep into the strategy and skills of volleyball, badminton, pickleball and tennis.
Spirit Week	Compete with all your fellow YMCA of Central Ohio campers and show your camp pride! Camp teams will create camp-themed banners, songs, cheers, and mascots then show-off their spirit for a day.
Y-Olympics	YMCA Olympics! Team unity and participation is essential. Some events will involve skill and energy and others will involve problem-solving. On Friday's closing ceremony one country will take the gold!
Camp Rewind	Did you love all of the games during Soccer week? Did you want to catch a touchdown just one more time this summer? Then you’re in luck! Spend the last week of camp revisiting all of our favorite activities and games as we put the entire summer on rewind.
Volleyball	Get ready to bump, set, spike! Another great sport that came from the YMCA. This week will be served up with mini games, skill development, and basic fundamentals. Can you dig it?

Dates, Rates & Themes