I just heard about Camp Google which sounds amazing! It is an online free “summer camp” for kids that they can do on their own from home or the library or another computer. There are four themed weeks (Ocean, Space, Nature and Music) and during each week, they have various activities. Each week from July through the first week of August a new theme “launches” and kids can follow along.

The Ocean week is currently live and features a video (originally a live stream) of two scientists from National Geographic speaking about what lives down in the ocean. It didn’t go unnoticed by me that the two scientists featured are both women (bonus!). During the live stream, kids can interact by voting and asking questions.

The other activities are experiments that the kids can do at home. They provide a list of supplies needed and kids can learn about different properties of science based on the experiments. Kids can earn “badges” that they print out for each activity completed, if they need a visual tangible chart of what they’ve accomplished.

The interface seems very intuitive and easy for kids (they recommend age 7+ but younger kids can definitely participate with help from a grownup… or an older kid). This seems like a good compromise for the summer: screen time but with an educational focus. Thanks, Google! (Meanwhile, we’re waiting patiently for Google Fiber!)