Now with a new name, an entirely renovated building and more programming for families than ever, the Queens Museum (formerly the Queens Museum of Art), which reopened its doors last November, still offers its signature summer camp for young artists, where kids use the collections as their muse to craft their own works. In one session, campers make giant puppets inspired by the iconic “Panorama of the City of New York” and in another, they contemplate the concept of museum by creating a stop-motion project about unusual guests dropping by for a visit. Camp runs July 7–Aug 15, Mon–Fri 9am–4pm. Two-week session $600. Ages 7 to 11.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to summer camps in NYC
When looking for a summer camp for kids, the city's cultural institutions don't exactly come to mind as camp venues. But when we turned to NYC museums for our Camp Guide 2014, we found a wealth of great summer camp programming, from art camps at the Guggenheim and the newly renovated Queens Museum to a science-centric program at AMNH and a media-focused summer camp for kids—think moviemaking, video-game design and animation—at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria. And that's why we decided to create a new camp category this year for museum camps. Families already learn about art, science, history and social issues at NYC museums, which is why they make the perfect venue for a summer camp for kids. Read on for our picks of the best museum camps New York City has to offer.