Lynden’s art and nature camps for children aged 4 to 15 years integrate our collection of monumental outdoor sculpture and temporary installations with the natural ecology of our hidden landscapes and unique habitats. Led by artists, naturalists, and art educators, the camps explore the intersection of art and nature through collaborative inquiry and hands-on artmaking, using all of Lynden's 40 acres to create a joyful, all-senses-engaged outdoor experience.
Camps are organized around themes that investigate our relationship to nature and enable us to learn through making. Each camp introduces a range of imaginative experiences, materials, and tools. Working on projects individually and as a team, we'll be recording our discoveries in prints, collages, and sculptures. Whether we are watching monarch butterflies emerge from their chrysalises or building rafts to explore the ponds, digging in the vegetable garden or carving with handmade knives, our focus is on cultivating creativity and an appreciation of process.
Join us for a summer of art and nature!
Become a member at the family level today to receive a 20% discount on camp fees (you may also add a membership during the camp registration process).
Space in each camp is limited and we anticipate they will fill quickly. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please read these directions carefully. Our registration system has changed.
In order to simplify the registration process and make it possible for parents to sign up siblings quickly, we have initiated a two-stage registration. In the first stage, you will provide basic contact information and pay for the camps you choose for your child. This secures your place. In the second stage, you will provide the additional information we need for your child.
Once you click on the link below and complete your initial registration and payment, you will receive an email with a Registration ID (for example, LSG-0000) and a link to the additional forms we require to fully register your child. You will also have an opportunity to register a second child immediately upon completing the initial registration.
Camps below in red are full; however, you may join the waiting list. If a space opens up, we will send you a link to register. These registrations must be completed within a week or you will be returned to the waiting list.
Questions?
Jeremy Stepien, Director of Education
414-446-8481
jstepien@lyndensculpturegarden.org
2026 CAMPS AT A GLANCE
Camps in red are full.
Registration closes the Wednesday prior to the first day of each camp.
FOR THE YOUNG & VERY YOUNG
Wednesdays in the Garden is designed for children aged 1-3 and their caregivers. It provides an opportunity for those with very small children to engage in outdoor play and the manipulation of art materials.
Garden Animals | 3 Mornings
June 29–July 1 | 9 am–12 pm
Ages 4–6
$126/$101 members
What animals live at Lynden and where can we find them? We will seek out the local animals, explore their habitats, and gather inspiration from our collection of animal sculptures to create artworks based on your own favorite animals—real and imaginary.
Garden Animals | 3 Afternoons
June 29–July 1 | 1 - 4 pm
Ages 4–6
$126/$101 members
What animals live at Lynden and where can we find them? We will seek out the local animals, explore their habitats, and gather inspiration from our collection of animal sculptures to create artworks based on your own favorite animals—real and imaginary.
Pond Wonders | 3 Mornings
August 24–26 | 9 am–12 pm
Ages 4–6
Increase by $2 in 2025: $126/$101 members
Exploring the pond is a sensory delight. Frogs, turtles, birds, insects, and plants provide a symphony of sounds, textures, and smells. We will get our hands wet exploring the pond habitat and the many critters that live in, and depend on the pond to survive. We will record our observations in our pond journals and create a floating sculpture to be tested in the small pond.
Pond Wonders | 3 Afternoons
August 24–26 | 1 pm–4 pm
Ages 4–6
$126/$101 members
Exploring the pond is a sensory delight. Frogs, turtles, birds, insects, and plants provide a symphony of sounds, textures, and smells. We will get our hands wet exploring the pond habitat and the many critters that live in, and depend on the pond to survive. We will record our observations in our pond journals and create a floating sculpture to be tested in the small pond.
FULL-DAY CAMPS FOR CHILDREN AGED 6-11
Pond Voyage I | 5 Days
July 13-17 | 9 am-4 pm
Ages 6-11
$490 / $392 member
For aquatic insects, understanding buoyancy, surface tension, and propulsion is key to survival. We will adapt this knowledge as we construct floating sculptures, prototypes for the full-sized rafts that will carry us across the pond at the end of the week. We’ll visit the different ponds at Lynden, recording our experiences in pond journals as we go, and learn batik-dyeing to make colorful bandanas and nautical flags that will adorn our rafts and ourselves.
Pond Voyage II | 5 Days
July 20-24 | 9 am-4 pm
Ages 6-11
$490 / $392 member
Due to the popularity of this camp, we are resetting our sails and charting a second voyage this summer! Dive into the world of aquatic insects to explore buoyancy, surface tension, and propulsion. Inspired by this knowledge, we’ll construct floating sculptures as prototypes for the full-sized rafts that will carry us across the pond at week’s end. Along the way, we’ll visit Lynden’s ponds, recording our observations in pond journals, and learn batik-dyeing to create colorful bandanas and nautical flags to adorn our rafts and ourselves.
Forage: Wild Clay | 5 Days
July 27-31 | 9 am-4 pm
Ages 6-11
$490 / $392 member
Foraging helps us discover the reciprocal relationship between ourselves and other living things. Using materials collected from the garden, we will expand the boundaries of what and where art can be. We will practice honorable harvesting to collect wild edibles to make our own tea with Open Kitchen’s Alyx Christensen; dig local clay to make ceramic beads that we’ll pit-fire in a campfire for a bead exchange. We’ll also dye and sew our own foraging bags for materials we collect along the way.
Portals, Passages, and Gateways | 5 Days
August 3-7 | 9 am-4 pm
Ages 6-11
$490 / $392 member
Artists often use portals—doorways, openings, and gateways—to mark moments of change and invite us to imagine what lies beyond what we already know. In this camp, participants will explore transitions between spaces, ideas, and perspectives in the natural spaces and among the sculptures at Lynden. Through hands-on artmaking in printing, paper making, and paint, campers will reflect on how these moments of change can spark curiosity and shape the way we see ourselves and the world around us.
Metamorphosis, Growth, Change | 5 Days
August 17-21 | 9 am-4 pm
Ages 6-11
$490 / $392 member
The dynamics of the natural world ensure that Lynden's landscape is in constant flux. We can track change within this environment by exploring differences in scale, texture, shape, and form. Whether observing an ecosystem up close or hiking through Lynden's fields, whether viewing plants through a microscope, or raising butterflies in the pollinator garden, we will seek out change and use clay, watercolor, pressure printing, and paper pulp to interpret our discoveries.
FOR OLDER CHILDREN UP TO AGE 15
Whittlers: Wood Culture | 5 Days
August 10-14 | 9 am-4 pm
Ages 10-15
$528/$430 members
There is a unique pleasure in working sustainable natural materials with simple hand tools, a pleasure shared by whittlers everywhere. We will use rasps and files to shape hardwood handles for our own fixed-blade carving knives and then head to Lynden’s back acres to learn green wood carving techniques. Along the way we’ll discover how Lynden’s artists and land managers cultivate sustainable interactions with trees. You'll walk away with several projects that can be assembled into a unique carving tool kit, and with new skills that will enable you to continue your whittling adventures at home. Returning whittlers welcome!
Past Whittlers! We’re welcoming back former Whittlers campers—and other young people (ages 12 and up) with some prior carving experience—for a day of green wood carving at Lynden on Sunday, January 18, 2026 - 11:00am - 4:00pm. Join here: Whittlers: Young Adult Carving Workshop
Registration, Fees & Policies
Registration
Please note: our registration system has changed.
In order to simplify the registration process and make it possible for parents to sign up siblings quickly, we have initiated two-stage registration. In the first stage, you will provide basic contact information and pay for the camps you choose for your child. This secures your place. In the second stage, you will provide the additional information we need for your child.
Once you click on the link below and complete your initial registration and payment, you will receive an email with a Registration ID (for example, LSG-0000) and a link to the additional forms we require to fully register your child. You will also have an opportunity to register a second child immediately upon completing the initial registration.
If camps are full, you will be able to join the waiting list. If a space opens up, we will send you a link to register. These registrations must be completed within a week or you will be returned to the waiting list.
In some cases, we will switch to phone registration when we approach the limit for a particular camp. This will be noted below in red.
Fees
Camp fees include supplies. Save 20% on registration by becoming a Lynden Sculpture Garden member at the family level.
Scholarships
Lynden is committed to making its programs available to all. We reserve 15% of our camp spaces for those requiring assistance; full and partial scholarships are available. To apply, please submit your registration form and contact Jeremy Stepien at (414) 446-8481 or jstepien@lyndensculpturegarden.org for a scholarship application.
Refund Policy
There is a $40 administrative fee for all refunds issued up to 14 days prior to the first day of a camp. No refunds are made after that period.
Cancellation Policy
If a camp is cancelled due to low enrollment (this will be determined 14 days prior to the first day of a camp), your registration fee will be refunded in full.
