Kaleidoscope Kids (KITE – Kaleidoscope Institute for Thinking Excellence)
The Pike School, 34 Sunset Rock Rd, Andover, MA 1810
About
Kaleidoscope Kids (KITE – Kaleidoscope Institute for Thinking Excellence) is a one-week full-day advanced program where students take part in hands-on building, research, storytelling, design challenges, and individual and small group investigations of real problems. Participants use science and technology to solve problems in unique ways, use the outdoors in many of their investigations, and develop leadership skills. Special Interest classes include options such as Mysteries of Numbers and Math, Building New Wonders of the Future, Fact or Fiction, and Marvelous Masterpieces.
• Ages: 4–13 years old
• Schedule: One-week, full-day session running July 27–31, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM daily
• Price: Tuition $550 per child plus a $40 non-refundable registration fee; refunds (less a $100 processing fee) are available for withdrawals prior to May 1, 2026; Extended Day Early Care (8:00–9:00 AM) is $50 per week and Extended Day (2:30–5:00 PM) is $250 per week
Kaleidoscope is a non-profit enrichment program that offers varied educational and cultural opportunities to children in the Merrimack Valley, with an emphasis on concrete learning in a creative setting. KITE is a one-week full-day advanced program for high ability learners in grades Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 7, and the 2026 KITE theme is “Mysteries and Marvels.” The program emphasizes higher-order creative and critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and activities in productive thinking, communication, forecasting, decision-making, and planning, with individual and small group independent investigations and in-depth study of high-interest topics. Projects are hands-on and interest-based, and teachers function primarily as a “guide on the side” rather than “sage on the stage,” as KITE kids explore high-interest topics through research and creativity.
Instructors are highly qualified certified teachers with training in gifted education and/or higher order thinking skills, and Kaleidoscope faculty is described as highly qualified, creative, and enthusiastic professionals. The KITE 2026 leadership team includes Director Kelsea Lussier, Coordinator Tim Stonecipher, and Consultants Janis Baron and Sandra Blumenthal. Kaleidoscope offers one-week courses for the forty-sixth summer and has offered quality education for children for what will soon be forty-five years. The camp complies with regulations of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (105 CMR 430.190C) and is licensed by the local board of health.
Kaleidoscope welcomes students from all communities, and last summer almost 700 children from 40 different communities were enrolled. One KITE student reported, “I learned how to organize things in my head and make good decisions,” and another said, “This past KITE program was just perfect.” Parents have described the teaching staff as outstanding and have noted that their children were excited to return, enjoyed being with “creative thinkers” who had “unique ideas,” and appreciated being allowed to be creative while they learned. Multiple parents commented that their children came home happy and proud to share what they learned, made friends, and wanted to return the following year, and one former parent attributed a now-college-aged child’s direction in film and animation to earlier experiences at KITE.
Last updated January 26, 2026.
• Ages: 4–13 years old
• Schedule: One-week, full-day session running July 27–31, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM daily
• Price: Tuition $550 per child plus a $40 non-refundable registration fee; refunds (less a $100 processing fee) are available for withdrawals prior to May 1, 2026; Extended Day Early Care (8:00–9:00 AM) is $50 per week and Extended Day (2:30–5:00 PM) is $250 per week
Kaleidoscope is a non-profit enrichment program that offers varied educational and cultural opportunities to children in the Merrimack Valley, with an emphasis on concrete learning in a creative setting. KITE is a one-week full-day advanced program for high ability learners in grades Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 7, and the 2026 KITE theme is “Mysteries and Marvels.” The program emphasizes higher-order creative and critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and activities in productive thinking, communication, forecasting, decision-making, and planning, with individual and small group independent investigations and in-depth study of high-interest topics. Projects are hands-on and interest-based, and teachers function primarily as a “guide on the side” rather than “sage on the stage,” as KITE kids explore high-interest topics through research and creativity.
Instructors are highly qualified certified teachers with training in gifted education and/or higher order thinking skills, and Kaleidoscope faculty is described as highly qualified, creative, and enthusiastic professionals. The KITE 2026 leadership team includes Director Kelsea Lussier, Coordinator Tim Stonecipher, and Consultants Janis Baron and Sandra Blumenthal. Kaleidoscope offers one-week courses for the forty-sixth summer and has offered quality education for children for what will soon be forty-five years. The camp complies with regulations of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (105 CMR 430.190C) and is licensed by the local board of health.
Kaleidoscope welcomes students from all communities, and last summer almost 700 children from 40 different communities were enrolled. One KITE student reported, “I learned how to organize things in my head and make good decisions,” and another said, “This past KITE program was just perfect.” Parents have described the teaching staff as outstanding and have noted that their children were excited to return, enjoyed being with “creative thinkers” who had “unique ideas,” and appreciated being allowed to be creative while they learned. Multiple parents commented that their children came home happy and proud to share what they learned, made friends, and wanted to return the following year, and one former parent attributed a now-college-aged child’s direction in film and animation to earlier experiences at KITE.
Last updated January 26, 2026.
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