Price Watch: Summer Camp

“Choosing a camp is kind of like pricing a car,” says Gordie Kaplan, executive director of the American Camp Association, Illinois. “There are a lot of factors to consider.” No kidding. With 12,000 day and sleepover camps in the U.S., there are plenty of choices to suit just about every kid’s particular interests, whether they include aviation, skateboarding, or lefty politics. Here is a sampling of some specialty day camps around Chicago.

By Karin Horgan Sullivan

FOR	CAMP	WHERE	COST	ACTIVITIES
THE ACROBAT	The Actors Gymnasium Circus and Performing Arts Camp	Evanston	$780/four-week session	Acrobatics, trapeze flying, tightrope and stilt walking, juggling
THE COMPUTER GEEK	Cybercamps	Chicago, River Forest, or Lisle	$599/week	Computer programming, robotics, Web and game design
THE SPORTS FAN	Sports Broadcasting Camp	Skokie	$450/day camp five-day session	Write and produce sports news and learn play-by-play broadcasting skills
THE ACTOR	Emerald City Theatre Summer Camp	Chicago	$375/two-week session	Theatre games, improvisation, vocal work, performance
THE LINGUIST	Spanish Horizons Summer Camp	Chicago	$345/week	Spanish language instruction through crafts, games, and activities
THE COMEDIAN	Second City Improvisation & Sketch Comedy Boot Camp	Chicago	$335–$365/two-week session	Improvisation and sketch comedy writing
THE ROCK STAR	DayJams Rock Music Camp	Des Plaines	$540/week; $2,010/four-week session	Write lyrics, learn guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, or vocals, and perform
THE ARTIST	The School of the Art Institute's Young Artists' Studio	Chicago	$722.50/four-week session (half day); $1,445/four-week session (all day)	Drawing, painting, dance, and performance projects

HOW WE COMPARE

While summer camp fees vary, the average weekly fee nationwide for overnight camps ranges from $325 to $780, and the average day camp fee runs $100 to $275 per week, but can be as low as $75. Full-season camps of seven to nine weeks cost around $3,000 to $9,000.

Average weekly fee for all ACA-accredited overnight camps, by U.S. region:

New England	$620
Middle Atlantic	$420
Midwest	$420
South	$400
West	$370

Average weekly fee for an ACA-accredited overnight camp offering nonreligious, traditional camp programs (nature activities, swimming, arts and crafts, etc.), by state: