If you’re a parent in Southern Minnesota, you know the feeling. School lets out, the calendar stares back at you, and the scramble begins. How do you keep your child engaged, learning, and – let’s be honest – not glued to a screen for three months?
Look no further. CMSM’s Summer Curiosity Camps are some of the most exciting summer camps in Mankato – and they are packed with the kind of experiences your child will talk about long after summer ends. We’re talking real pottery wheels. Water rockets that fly over a city block. Actual sewing machines. Fresh-from-the-garden cooking. Every single week, something new.
Half-Day Camps Built for Curious Children
Running every Wednesday morning from June 3 through August 26, Curiosity Camps are designed for children in Kindergarten through 3rd grade. From 9am to noon, your child gets three hours of hands-on, imagination-fueled fun led by Minnesota-licensed educators and CMSM’s expert program staff.
Each week has its own theme, with engaging activities, experiments, and even take-home creations. You can sign up for one camp, a handful, or the whole summer. It’s entirely up to you, which makes it a perfect fit whether you’re filling a gap in your summer schedule or building out a full weekly routine.
This Isn’t Just Crafts and Coloring
What makes Curiosity Camps different is the depth of the experiences. CMSM brings in real community partners such as 3M, Living Earth Center, our very ownOkies sewing group, and MnDOT, to give campers access to genuine, real-world learning alongside the creative and scientific exploration they love.
One week, children are launching water rockets with engineers from 3M. Another week, they’re harvesting produce from CMSM’s own garden and cooking with it. They’re learning sustainability through recycled art, exploring forensic science through mystery-solving, and getting their hands in real clay on a real pottery wheel.
These aren’t watered-down activities. They’re the real thing, sized just right for young learners.
Why Parents Love It
- Flexible registration: sign up for just the weeks that work for you
- Half-day format: fits easily around work schedules, childcare, and other summer plans
- Take-home projects: your child leaves with something they made themselves, almost every week
- Small, supervised groups: safe, structured, and led by people who know and love children
- Museum access built-in: campers also get time to explore CMSM’s exhibits throughout the morning
- Every camper gets a Curiosity Camp t-shirt to wear all summer long
Scholarships Are Available
At CMSM, we believe every child deserves the opportunity to learn, play, and explore. That’s why, thanks to the generous support of our camp sponsor Xcel Energy Foundation, Curiosity Camp scholarships are available to help make camp accessible for more families in our community. Don’t let cost be the reason your child misses out! Learn more and apply online here.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Summer Curiosity Camps are proudly presented by theXcel Energy Foundation, with incredible support from community partners 3M, Living Earth Center, The Okies, and MnDOT. Their involvement is what makes these camps truly one-of-a-kind.
Space is limited!
Each camp is registered separately, and space is limited. If you’ve been meaning to lock in your summer plans, now’s the time.
