Explora offers a variety of week-long summer camps that inspire excitement amongst learners of all grade levels about science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM). At Explora, campers preK-12th get engaged and keep their brain cells buzzing by investigating STEAM topics in materials-rich, creative environments. Registration is by grade the camper most recently completed.
Financial assistance is available for all summer programs on request. We don’t want anyone to miss out on summer camp! Contact reservations@explora.us for more information.
June 1 - July 31, 2026
Each of these week-long, half-day camps is $170 for members/$195 for non-members.
Looking for camp all day? Enroll in morning and afternoon camp sessions. Campers staying all day will be supervised during lunchtime.
Beforecare is available from 8 am- 9 am, and aftercare is available from 4 pm - 5:30 pm, $10 per session. Pre-register (card only) for the week or pay by the session (card only). $50 for a week of beforecare. $50 for a week of aftercare.
Week 1: June 1 - 5, 2026
Splish Splash
Pre-K
9 am-12 pm
Get ready to get wet! Race water drops, guess, and then test out which objects you can float and sink. Did you guess correctly? Can you blow up a balloon just by changing the temperature of water?
Hot and Cold
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Discover the effects of a little heat or cold on a variety of materials. You’ll experiment with the three phases of water, determine which materials are conductive or insulating, and concoct ice pop experiments.
Unbelievable Bubbles
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Get hands-on with bubbles as you investigate surface tension through playful experiments. Try different wands, design bubble sculptures, and observe swirling colors and reflections as bubbles form, grow, and pop.
Complex Simple Machines
3rd - 5thGrades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Simple machines make work and play easier, and they are full of surprises. Explore the fascinating forces and motion behind everyday tools as you build and test hands-on creations. Use levers, pulleys, wheels and axles, screws, wedges, and inclined planes to design complex structures, solve challenges, and discover how engineers use simple machines to make big things happen.
Creative Robotics
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Writing basic computer programs as a creative exercise helps students build analytical thinking, problem-solving, and logic skills. Using block-based and beginner-friendly coding tools, students will design, test, and refine digital creations in motion, exploring how code controls movement and position while applying simple coordinate geometry concepts in an interactive, modern programming environment.
Week 2: June 8 - 12, 2026
Super Shapes
Pre-K
9 am-12 pm
Shapes are all around us! Discover the astounding elements of circles, triangles, and more in this hands-on camp. Build, stack, compare, and play with shapes as you explore how they fit together, move, and create patterns in the world around you.
Jump, Run, Fly! Animals of the Chihuahua High Desert
K-1st Grades
9 am-12:30 pm
Materials Fee only camp: $20 members/$30 non-members
Let’s explore the desert! The Chihuahuan Desert is home to many different animals. What do we need to do to take care of the desert and the life it sustains?
Offered in Collaboration with Dual Language Education of New Mexico.
This camp is a teacher training program with Project GLAD.
Amazing Circles
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Come explore the magic of the roundest shape. Circles and their variations, including disks, spheres, cylinders, and domes, are some of the most common and versatile shapes in the universe. Through hands-on building, experimenting, and creating, students will discover how circles appear in nature, design, and everyday life.
Whales to Worms
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Curiosity about animals comes naturally. You’ll explore animal anatomy and physiology through hands-on investigations and playful experiments, discovering how animals behave, adapt, and function in the world around them. You will also design and build a home for an animal, creating a habitat to take home and continue the exploration.
Kids Code
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm
Come learn coding skills as you use code to create fun and functional systems. Design, build, and bring your ideas to life with Hummingbird Bit Robotics and more as you experiment, invent, and problem-solve. Code the future and see what you can make happen.
Kids Cook
3rd-5th Grades
1 pm-4 pm
Let’s get cooking with Kids Cook! Cook traditional food from around the world as you learn about a variety of cultures, foods, and culinary techniques. Gain kitchen skills, including tool identification and proper use, knife safety, and food safety. Come discover, learn, and have fun in the kitchen. Bon appetit, it’s time to eat!
Recipes and ingredients may contain nuts, gluten, dairy, or eggs. Offered in Collaboration with Kids Cook!
Week 3: June 15 - 19, 2026
Light & Shadow
Pre-K
9 am-12 pm
Discover different ways to make shadows as we investigate light by bouncing and bending it, explore shadows and shadow shapes, experiment with colored light and colored shadows, and much more. Along the way, you will create eye-catching light effects and uncover the surprising science behind how light and shadows work together.
Eureka!
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
What discoveries will you make today? Investigate the surprising powers of levers and pulleys, experiment with splashes and sinking using water displacement and buoyancy, and dive into all sorts of hands-on challenges. You might even uncover a clever trick that engineers have been using for centuries!
Marvelous Magnets
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Get ready to explore the power of magnetism. Experiment with different types of magnets, uncover their surprising properties, and see how magnetic forces can push, pull, and attract. Put your discoveries into action by designing and creating a take-home magnetic garden that brings science to life.
Forces That Change the Earth
2nd-4th Grades
9 am-12:30 pm
Materials Fee only camp: $20 members/$30 non-members
Get ready to shake, rattle, and erupt with excitement! This camp is for curious geologists who want to discover how our planet is constantly changing. Explore the incredible power of volcanoes, earthquakes, and the dynamic forces that shape Earth’s surface.
Offered in Collaboration with Dual Language Education of New Mexico.
This camp is a teacher training program with Project GLAD.
Blast Off!
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm
Calling all rocket scientists! Design paper rockets and plastic bottle rockets that will fly straight and go to altitudes of several hundred feet when launched. Discover the laws of motion as well as the forces of thrust, air resistance, and gravity as you rocket into the stratosphere.
Busy Bodies
3rd-5th Grades
1 pm-4 pm
Explore the wonders of the human body as you discover how your heart works, what makes your bones strong, what happens to food during digestion, and how your senses help you perceive the world.
Week 4: June 22 - 26, 2026
Heat up, Cool Down
Pre-K
9 am-12 pm
Many materials respond to temperature change- see what happens when things get very cold and very hot. Can you use hot water to help blow up a balloon or cold water to help it shrink?
We Love Dirt!
K-2nd grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Get your hands dirty as you explore the world of soil, sand and silt. Use microscopes to look at soil samples up close, make your own sand, build a house of mud and more.
Light & Shadow
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Discover different ways to make shadows as we investigate light by bouncing and bending it, explore shadows and shadow shapes, experiment with colored light and colored shadows, and much more. Along the way, you will create eye-catching light effects and uncover the surprising science behind how light and shadows work together.
Energy Transformers
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Energy comes in many forms and can change and move in exciting ways. During these energizing activities, you will explore different forms of energy and how energy can be transferred from one object to another and through sound, light, and electrical currents. Experiment with Newton’s Cradles and build wind turbines that produce electricity to see energy in action.
Music Explorers
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm
Every sound starts with a vibration. Experiment with instruments and everyday objects to see how vibrations move through the air in wave-like patterns. Follow those sound waves all the way to your ears and uncover how they become music, rhythm, and noise.
Friends & Feelings Lab
3rd-5th Grades
1 pm-4 pm
It's important for all scientists to work together and care for those around them! Come explore the science behind emotions and friendship. Practice connection and community through group challenges, art, and play.
Week 5: June 29 - July 3, 2026
Adventures in Space
Pre-K
9 am-12 pm
3, 2, 1, Blast Off! You’ll also use your imagination to explore the wonders of outer space. Be a young astronaut as you learn about planets, stars, and rockets. Build your own models and discover what makes space so amazing!
Marvelous Magnets
K-2nd grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Get ready to explore the power of magnetism. Experiment with different types of magnets, uncover their surprising properties, and see how magnetic forces can push, pull, and attract. Put your discoveries into action by designing and creating a take-home magnetic garden that brings science to life.
What's Cooking in Chemistry
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Become kitchen chemists as you investigate exciting reactions using everyday substances and foods. Mix, measure, and experiment with common household materials to see how ingredients change, bubble, freeze, and transform. From making your own ice cream to testing surprising chemical reactions, discover how chemistry shows up in the kitchen.
Creative Robotics
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Writing basic computer programs as a creative exercise helps students build analytical thinking, problem-solving, and logic skills. Using block-based and beginner-friendly coding tools, students will design, test, and refine digital creations in motion, exploring how code controls movement and position while applying simple coordinate geometry concepts in an interactive, modern programming environment.
Complex Simple Machines
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Simple machines make work and play easier, and they are full of surprises. Explore the fascinating forces and motion behind everyday tools as you build and test hands-on creations. Use levers, pulleys, wheels and axles, screws, wedges, and inclined planes to design complex structures, solve challenges, and discover how engineers use simple machines to make big things happen.
Week 6: July 6 - 10, 2026
How Attractive
Pre-K
9 am-12 pm
Magnets are all around us and feel like magic. They can pull objects close, push them away, and make things move without touching. Get ready to play, explore, and be amazed as you discover all the fun ways magnets work in everyday life.
Eureka!
K-2nd grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
What discoveries will you make today? Investigate the surprising powers of levers and pulleys, experiment with splashes and sinking using water displacement and buoyancy, and dive into all sorts of hands-on challenges. You might even uncover a clever trick that engineers have been using for centuries!
Light & Shadow
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Discover different ways to make shadows as we investigate light by bouncing and bending it, explore shadows and shadow shapes, experiment with colored light and colored shadows, and much more. Along the way, you will create eye-catching light effects and uncover the surprising science behind how light and shadows work together.
Whales to Worms
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Curiosity about animals comes naturally. You’ll explore animal anatomy and physiology through hands-on investigations and playful experiments, discovering how animals behave, adapt, and function in the world around them. You will also design and build a home for an animal, creating a habitat to take home and continue the exploration.
Kids Code
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Come learn coding skills as you use code to create fun and functional systems. Design, build, and bring your ideas to life with Hummingbird Bit Robotics and more as you experiment, invent, and problem-solve. Code the future and see what you can make happen.
Week 7: July 13 - 17, 2026
Splish Splash
Pre-K
9 am-12 pm
Get ready to get wet! Race water drops, guess, and then test out which objects you can float and sink. Did you guess correctly? Can you blow up a balloon just by changing the temperature of water?
We Love Dirt!
K-2nd grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Get your hands dirty as you explore the world of soil, sand, and silt. Use microscopes to look at soil samples up close, make your own sand, build a house of mud, and more.
Amazing Circles
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Come explore the magic of the roundest shape. Circles and their variations, including disks, spheres, cylinders, and domes, are some of the most common and versatile shapes in the universe. Through hands-on building, experimenting, and creating, students will discover how circles appear in nature, design, and everyday life.
Blast Off!
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Calling all rocket scientists! Design paper rockets and plastic bottle rockets that will fly straight and go to altitudes of several hundred feet when launched. Discover the laws of motion as well as the forces of thrust, air resistance, and gravity as you rocket into the stratosphere.
Music Explorers
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Every sound starts with a vibration. Experiment with instruments and everyday objects to see how vibrations move through the air in wave-like patterns. Follow those sound waves all the way to your ears and uncover how they become music, rhythm, and noise.
Friends & Feelings Lab
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm
It's important for all scientists to work together and care for those around them! Come explore the science behind emotions and friendship. Practice connection and community through group challenges, art, and play.
Week 8: July 20- 24, 2026
Heat Up, Cool Down
Pre-K
9 am-12 pm
Many materials respond to temperature change- see what happens when things get very cold and very hot. Can you use hot water to help blow up a balloon or cold water to help it shrink?
Marvelous Magnets
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Get ready to explore the power of magnetism. Experiment with different types of magnets, uncover their surprising properties, and see how magnetic forces can push, pull, and attract. Put your discoveries into action by designing and creating a take-home magnetic garden that brings science to life.
Unbelievable Bubbles
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Get hands-on with bubbles as you investigate surface tension through playful experiments. Try different wands, design bubble sculptures, and observe swirling colors and reflections as bubbles form, grow, and pop.
Blast Off!
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Calling all rocket scientists! Design paper rockets and plastic bottle rockets that will fly straight and go to altitudes of several hundred feet when launched. Discover the laws of motion as well as the forces of thrust, air resistance, and gravity as you rocket into the stratosphere.
Energy Transformers
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Energy comes in many forms and can change and move in exciting ways. During these energizing activities, you will explore different forms of energy and how energy can be transferred from one object to another and through sound, light, and electrical currents. Experiment with Newton’s Cradles and build wind turbines that produce electricity to see energy in action.
Week 9: July 27- 31, 2026
Super Shapes
Pre-K
9 am-12 pm
Shapes are all around us! Discover the astounding elements of circles, triangles, and more in this hands-on camp. Build, stack, compare, and play with shapes as you explore how they fit together, move, and create patterns in the world around you.
Hot and Cold
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Discover the effects of a little heat or cold on a variety of materials. You’ll experiment with the three phases of water, determine which materials are conductive or insulating, and concoct ice pop experiments.
Make, Share, Care!
K-2nd Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Explore how kindness affects our brains, bodies, and friendships through hands-on activities like postcard making, junk journaling, friendship bracelets, and simple team-building games. Each day, you’ll practice caring for others by creating thoughtful gifts, sharing ideas, and learning how small acts of kindness can make a big difference.
Kids Code
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm or 1 pm-4 pm
Come learn coding skills as you use code to create fun and functional systems. Design, build, and bring your ideas to life with Hummingbird Bit Robotics and more as you experiment, invent, and problem-solve. Code the future and see what you can make happen.
Busy Bodies
3rd-5th Grades
9 am-12 pm
Explore the wonders of the human body as you discover how your heart works, what makes your bones strong, what happens to food during digestion, and how your senses help you perceive the world.
Kids Cook
3rd-5th Grades
1 pm-4 pm
Let’s get cooking with Kids Cook! Cook traditional food from around the world as you learn about a variety of cultures, foods, and culinary techniques. Gain kitchen skills, including tool identification and proper use, knife safety, and food safety. Come discover, learn, and have fun in the kitchen. Bon appetit, it’s time to eat!
Recipes and ingredients may contain nuts, gluten, dairy, or eggs. Offered in Collaboration with Kids Cook!
Explora Camp at the Anderson Abruzzo International Balloon Museum
Join Explora for a week-long camp at the Balloon Museum. The week will include STEAM-rich Explora programs and time to visit exhibits at the Balloon Museum.
$340 members/$370 non-members
Financial assistance is available for all programs, on request. We don’t want anyone to miss out on Explora programs.
The Art and Science of Ballooning in New Mexico
Week 3: June 15 - June 19
K-5th Grades
Week 8: July 20 - July 24
K-5th Grades
Soaring into STEM: Near Space Balloon Camp
Take on a real-world engineering challenge by designing, launching, and analyzing a high-altitude balloon experiment that travels to near space. Work in teams to build payloads, explore how sensors and tracking systems work, and study data collected during flight. Practice problem solving, collaboration, and data analysis while making connections to real STEM careers in New Mexico. This hands-on camp is ideal for curious learners ready to explore science above the clouds.
This camp is offered in partnership with ScienceHeads.org and Sandia National Laboratories.
Week 4: June 22 - June 26
4th-9th Grades
Week 9: July 27 - July 31
4th-9th Grades
Explora Sensory Friendly Camp
Designed for neurodivergent individuals and led by staff trained in education, speech therapy, and behavior therapy. Offered in collaboration with LSG and Associates.
Each of these week-long, half-day camps is $170 for members/$195 for non-members. Registering siblings? $340 for both.
Financial assistance is available for all programs on request. We don’t want anyone to miss out on Explora programs.
Test, Taste, Discover!
What’s in the food we eat? Campers will explore the science of nutrition by learning about proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins—and why our bodies need them. Through hands-on experiments, students will test different foods to identify these nutrients and discover how science helps us understand what fuels our bodies.
Requirements: Campers need to be able to have independent personal skills (bathroom and feeding skills) and have communication skills (i.e. verbal, communication device/system)
Week 4: June 22 - June 26
K-2nd Grades
1 pm-4 pm
Week 6: July 6 - July 10
3rd-5th Grades
1 pm-4 pm
