Youth Camps at The Bakken Museum
The Bakken Museum, 3537 Zenith Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55416
About
Youth Camps at The Bakken Museum include sessions where campers design, build, and show their inventions, practice creative thinking skills, learn magic tricks, and play games. Campers explore science, math, technology, and engineering, learn to responsibly use tools and technology, and spend time outdoors during breaks. Campers design and build their own projects, practice the innovation process from idea to creation, and go home with a project of their own design, with each session concluding in a Big Show where they share their work and celebrate what they have built.
• Ages: 7–15 years old
• Schedule: Half-day Young Makers Camp options and full-day Camp Innovation sessions offered in week-long blocks, with examples of camp times including 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m., and a 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Camp Innovation day
• Price: Young Makers Camp $250 ($225 for members); Camp Innovation at the University of St. Thomas $450 ($405 for members); Camp Innovation at The Bakken Museum $480 ($432 for members), with a four-day camp option at $390 ($351 for members)
Campers entering grades 2 and 3 get practice using some basic tools and learn The Bakken Museum’s invention process while designing and building a unique take-home project. Campers entering grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 design and build their own projects, with full access in some sessions to a museum makerspace and all of the tools and materials. Experienced educators lead the camps, supported by high school and college-aged counselors who have a passion for STEM and experience working with children, and the program maintains a low student-to-staff ratio of 6:1 or better.
Since 1975, The Bakken Museum has turned curiosity into possibility by empowering people to improve the world, and it offers youth camps and school partnerships that bring STEM to students in Minnesota. Scholarships to the summer camps are funded by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education Summer Academic Enrichment Program and donations from supporters, with two levels of scholarship available based on income and space reserved in each summer camp session for scholarship applicants. Members receive early access to summer camps and a 10% discount on registration to all camps and classes throughout the year at certain membership levels, and Camp Innovation “Girls” camps are open to trans girls, cis girls, non-binary young people, and any gender expansive young people, as part of The Bakken Museum’s goal of being an inclusive and supportive environment for all learners.
Parent testimonials describe campers having fun while learning about being creative, working through the engineering process, and feeling proud of building something new, and they note that the project showcase or Big Show at the end of camp is a strong part of the experience. Other parents report that their children were excited by the activities every day, appreciated how hands-on the camps were, and mentioned using tools such as soldering irons on the first day.
Last updated June 27, 2026.
• Ages: 7–15 years old
• Schedule: Half-day Young Makers Camp options and full-day Camp Innovation sessions offered in week-long blocks, with examples of camp times including 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m., and a 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Camp Innovation day
• Price: Young Makers Camp $250 ($225 for members); Camp Innovation at the University of St. Thomas $450 ($405 for members); Camp Innovation at The Bakken Museum $480 ($432 for members), with a four-day camp option at $390 ($351 for members)
Campers entering grades 2 and 3 get practice using some basic tools and learn The Bakken Museum’s invention process while designing and building a unique take-home project. Campers entering grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 design and build their own projects, with full access in some sessions to a museum makerspace and all of the tools and materials. Experienced educators lead the camps, supported by high school and college-aged counselors who have a passion for STEM and experience working with children, and the program maintains a low student-to-staff ratio of 6:1 or better.
Since 1975, The Bakken Museum has turned curiosity into possibility by empowering people to improve the world, and it offers youth camps and school partnerships that bring STEM to students in Minnesota. Scholarships to the summer camps are funded by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education Summer Academic Enrichment Program and donations from supporters, with two levels of scholarship available based on income and space reserved in each summer camp session for scholarship applicants. Members receive early access to summer camps and a 10% discount on registration to all camps and classes throughout the year at certain membership levels, and Camp Innovation “Girls” camps are open to trans girls, cis girls, non-binary young people, and any gender expansive young people, as part of The Bakken Museum’s goal of being an inclusive and supportive environment for all learners.
Parent testimonials describe campers having fun while learning about being creative, working through the engineering process, and feeling proud of building something new, and they note that the project showcase or Big Show at the end of camp is a strong part of the experience. Other parents report that their children were excited by the activities every day, appreciated how hands-on the camps were, and mentioned using tools such as soldering irons on the first day.
Last updated June 27, 2026.
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