Indoor Activity Ideas to Inspire Your Camp!
There are so many camp formats out there – faith-based camps, organization-backed camps, recovery camps for physical or mental health, volunteer camps, outdoor adventure camps, sports camps, engineering camps – we couldn’t list them all if we tried. The camp world is a kaleidoscope of possibilities!
But there is one thing that all camps have in common – a group of campers who need entertainment from occasional disruptions (like severe weather or service outages) that make the planned activities impossible to facilitate. Every camp should have a backup plan that includes a few easily prepped and approved indoor activities to keep campers entertained until the camp can resume its planned programming.
In 2023, the iCampPro Team surveyed camps about a variety of topics – view our findings here! While there was no clear winner for best indoor activity in the surveys collected, we identified four main categories of activities – Arts and Crafts, Culinary Activities, Board Games and Organized Games, and STEM/STEAM Activities.
To help inspire your camp with new indoor activity ideas, we have included a few examples of each type of activity below!
Arts and Crafts
Arts and crafts encourage creativity, self-expression, and problem-solving. They can provide relaxation and stress relief for campers. Plus, they are a fantastic way to include campers who may not get as much enjoyment from physical or group activities – giving them time to recharge!
- Create recycled art using recycled material, found objects and items from nature
- Design a cabin flag or camp team flag and motto
- Learn to make friendship bracelets
- Craft picture frames for camp photos
- Explore paper crafts with tissue paper flowers, paper plate masks, paper bag puppets, origami, or paper dolls with costumes
Culinary Activities
Learning how to make a snack from scratch can foster independence in young campers! It can also be a great way to introduce healthy eating patterns and nutrition topics so that campers can explore simple culinary techniques and recipes.
- Explore custom snack recipes like trail mix, ants on a log, popsicles, or fruit kabobs
- Learn about food and knife safety by making apple bunnies or personal veggie trays
- Try foil-packet cooking over a campfire
- Learn about measuring liquids and solids with baking or instant pudding
- Get creative with cookie or cupcake decorating
Board Games and Organized Games
Board games and organized games are a wonderful way to promote social interaction, strategic thinking, problem-solving, leadership, and sportsmanship at camp. Traditional games like Red Rover and Follow the Leader may be outdated – but there are still a ton of options to work with!
- Grid-based games like Battleship, Connect4, Chess, or Checkers translate perfectly to life-size formats
- Host a gameshow with trivia, karaoke, or charades
- Plan a giant indoor scavenger hunt
- Physical challenges - like a hula hoop pass relay
- Mental challenges - like riddles or puzzles
STEM/STEAM Activities
The benefits of STEM/STEAM activities are well known. They’re an immersive way to bring together concepts and explore the practical uses of more complex topics with young minds. Here are a few activities that can suit any budget!
- Building with blocks, LEGO ®, K’NEX, pool noodles, PVC, foam blocks, etc.
- Learn to measure and mix with slime or salt dough
- Compete for the tallest tower out of large marshmallows and pretzel sticks
- Build a DaVinci Bridge using rubber bands and a variety of materials (like pencils, pretzel sticks, chopsticks, pickup sticks, etc.) to test their load capacities
- Fold and customize paper planes and plane launchers
Do you have a favorite indoor activity at your camp?
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