Summer Camps

Ages: Boys and Girls 5 to 14
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (M-F)
Dates and Tuition:
Session 1: June 17 to June 21 (Week of Juneteenth) - $350
Session 2: June 24 to June 28 - $440 
Session 3: July 1 to July 5 (Week of July 4) - $350
Session 4: July 8 to July 12 - $440
Session 5: July 15 to July 19 - $440
Session 6: July 22 to July 26 - $440
*Optional Weekly Transportation Fee: $35 per camper

Kids will be constantly challenged as they learn to play chess with national chess masters. Chess is gymnastics for the brain, and studying the game is known to show significant improvement in school grades and academic activities.

Directed by National Chess Master Arkadiy Frenkel, young players will be taught strategies and tactics that will help them on the board and in life. Frenkel has more than 30 years of international experience and has taught at chess camps, schools, and programs in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Several of his current students have won state and national tournaments, and the high school teams he coached in 2010 and 2017 placed second in the National Girls Team Championship.

Ages: Boys and Girls 8 to 12
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Weekly Session:
Session 1: June 24 to June 28 - $590
Session 2: July 1 to July 5 (Week of July 4) - $470 THIS SESSION IS CLOSED. 
Session 3: July 8 to July 12 - $590
Session 4: July 15 to July 19 - $590
Session 5: July 22 to July 26 - $590
*Optional Weekly Transportation Fee: $35 per camper

A minimum of 6 students and a maximum of 15 students will be admitted per session.

Campers use LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT, EV3, and LEGO Education SPIKE™ Prime to create innovative and challenging robotic designs. Working in a team or individually, they use sensors, motors, and a Scratch-based drag-and-drop coding language to program their robots to move, react to sound or light, and make decisions! Using play they think critically and solve complex problems. 

Campers can engage in structured competitions each week to challenge their creativity, building, and coding skills, to complete missions on large game boards. They are encouraged to document their designs using video techniques available in the camp.

The programs conducted by the McDonogh School are not affiliated, sponsored, or endorsed by LEGO® Education or the LEGO® Group. LEGO®, the LEGO® logo, the Brick, DUPLO®, MINDSTORMS®, SPIKE™, and BricQ™ are trademarks of the LEGO® Group. ©2021 The LEGO® Group.

Ages: Boys and Girls 6 to 9
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m..
Weekly Session:
Session 1: LEVERS June 24 to June 28 - $590
Session 2: SIMPLE MACHINES July 1 to July 5 (Week of July 4) - $470 THIS SESSION IS CLOSED. 
Session 3: WHEELS AND AXLES July 8 to July 12 - $590
Session 4: PULLEYS AND GEARS July 15 to July 19 - $590
Session 5: SCREWS AND INCLINED PLANES July 22 to July 26 - $590
*Optional Weekly Transportation Fee: $35 per camper

A minimum of 6 students and a maximum of 15 students will be admitted per session.

Session 1 - Young Engineers Levers
Campers investigate the engineering principles of the simple machine of levers, using LEGO® building materials to create the mechanisms, and structures. They explore hands-on activities to learn about the 3 classes of levers and how they are used to provide leverage. From a simple balance scale to the medieval trebuchet and catapult, campers build and discover the science behind levers. This is the camp for LEGO® Lovers! Activities are carefully selected to inspire and stimulate creative-thinking. Campers use LEGO® robotic equipment, LEGO® Education BricQ™ Motion Essential and LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Essential, and exciting child-friendly software as they complete their learning missions. They document their experience using video techniques available in camp.

Session 2 – Young Engineers Simple Machines (4th of July)
Campers investigate the engineering principles of all the simple machines, mechanisms, and structures, using LEGO® building materials. They explore hands-on activities using gears, pulleys, levers, and wheels and axles. This is the camp for LEGO® Lovers! Activities are carefully selected to inspire and stimulate creative-thinking. Campers use LEGO® robotic equipment, BricQ™ Motion Essential, LEGO Education SPIKE™ Essential, and exciting child-friendly software as they complete their learning missions. They document their experience using video techniques available in camp.

Session 3 – Young Engineers Wheels and Axles
Campers investigate the engineering principles of the simple machine of wheels and axles, using LEGO® building materials to create the mechanisms, and structures. They explore hands-on activities learning about mechanical advantage, the ratios of power output to power input, and how it affects speed and distance. This is the camp for LEGO® Lovers! Activities are carefully selected to inspire and stimulate creative-thinking. Campers use LEGO® robotic equipment, BricQ™ Motion Essential, LEGO Education SPIKE™ Essential, and exciting child-friendly software as they complete their learning missions. They document their experience using video techniques available in camp.

Session 4 – Young Engineers Pulleys and Gears
Campers investigate the engineering principles of the simple machines of pulleys and gears, using LEGO® building materials to create the mechanisms, and structures. They explore hands-on activities that demonstrate the transfer of power between the shaft and the cable or belt of a pulley system and further examine the block and tackle pulley systems and the compound machine created when using gears with pulleys. This is the camp for LEGO® Lovers! Activities are carefully selected to inspire and stimulate creative-thinking. Campers will use LEGO® robotic equipment, BricQ™ Motion Essential, LEGO Education SPIKE™ Essential, and exciting child-friendly software as they complete their learning missions. They document their experience using video techniques available in camp.

Session 5 – Young Engineers Screws and Inclined Planes
Campers investigate the engineering principles of the simple machines of screws and inclined planes, using LEGO® building materials to create the mechanisms, and structures. They explore hands-on activities to understand the mechanical advantage of the slope angle of inclined planes, and its relationship to the screw, an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder where a rotating helix causes linear motion. This is the camp for LEGO® Lovers! Activities are carefully selected to inspire and stimulate creative-thinking. Campers use LEGO® robotic equipment, BricQ™ Motion Essential, LEGO Education SPIKE™ Essential, and exciting child-friendly software as they complete their learning missions. They document their experience using video techniques available in camp.

The programs conducted by the McDonogh School are not affiliated, sponsored, or endorsed by LEGO® Education or the LEGO® Group. LEGO®, the LEGO® logo, the Brick, DUPLO®, MINDSTORMS®, SPIKE™, and BricQ™ are trademarks of the LEGO® Group. ©2021 The LEGO® Group.

Ages: Boys and Girls 8 to 14
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Dates and Tuition:
Session 1: June 17 to June 21 - $350 (Juneteenth holiday)
Session 2: June 24 to June 28 - $440
Session 3: July 1 to July 5 - $350 (Week of July 4)
Session 4: July 8 to July 12 - $440
*Optional Weekly Transportation Fee: $35 per camper

Debate is all around us! Whether it's arguing with a friend about the best basketball team, convincing a parent to let you go out with friends, or making an informed vote during an election, we all engage in it. Through fun activities and engaging topics, debaters at this camp will use evidence to substantiate their ideas, analyze and respond to other perspectives, and think critically about the ideas presented. Let's Debate! also provides practical strategies for critical reading, text analysis, questioning, and developing well-constructed responses. Through the practice of policy debate, students will become familiar with how to use debate in their real and academic lives.

The Baltimore Urban Debate League will provide this camp experience utilizing knowledge from 20 years of providing debate-based education opportunities to elementary, middle, and high school students. We seek to help students find their voices and use them with power and purpose. Please see budl.org for more information on our programming.

For McDonogh Middle School students only!

Ages: Boys and Girls 11 to 14
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Dates and Tuition:
Session 1: July 8 to July 12 (For rising 6th & 7th graders only) - $335
Session 2: July 15 to July 19 (For rising 8th & 9th graders only) - $335
*Transportation and lunch are not available for this program.

McDonogh English teacher Cathy Schorreck will guide students through the elements of essay writing during this one-week course. Students will review and practice the stages of the writing process, including brainstorming, outlining, drafting, and revising.

Students will learn strategies that will help them improve the structure, organization, and flow of their writing. They will also receive individual feedback at each stage of the process, and they will be expected to revise their work. Understanding and using rubrics in the planning and revision process will promote stronger proofreading skills. Students will write on word processors and be introduced to different available technologies that facilitate writing. For more information, contact Cathy Schorreck at 443-544-7351.

Ages: Boys and Girls 10 to 14
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (M-F)
Dates and Tuition: 
Session 1: July 1 to July 5 (Week of July 4) - $395
Session 2: July 8 to July 12 - $495
Session 3: July 15 to July 19 - $495
Session 4: July 22 to July 26 - $495
*Optional Weekly Transportation Fee: $35 per camper

A minimum of 8 students and a maximum of 15 students will be admitted per session.

Unlock the secrets of forensic investigation at CSI Camp! Dive into a hands-on experience where campers will find clues, analyze evidence, and solve crimes. Participants will master crime scene interpretation, fingerprinting, handwriting analysis, and more. Inspired by famous cases, campers will design their own crime and present their findings in a thrilling trial. Join us for an immersive adventure and discover if you have what it takes to be a master scientist and investigator!