Summer Camps and Summer Programs

By Jennifer Ersalesi

With March underway, many families are considering summer camps and programs for their children. Our Borough and neighboring towns have many opportunities for children and young adults to learn, have fun, and socialize. This article will include several descriptions of camps/ programs and links for registration.

The Rutherford Stingrays Summer Swim Team has opened their registration. These teams are for children ten and under and children 11 and over and run from June 23rd through July 24th, 4:00-6:15 pm. Practices will occur at the Rutherford Community Aquatic Center at Rutherford High School, 56 Elliott Place. Please click this link to learn more and to register.

Painting on Park, located at 104 Park Avenue, offers several summer camps. These camps start on June 30th and end on July 31st. These weekly camps for children ages seven and up focus on painting and being artistically creative. The camps run Monday through Thursday, 9:00am - 12:00pm, where artists can expect to do a painting and craft, based on an overall theme, every day. All supplies, daily snacks, and a limited edition, customizable POP Tee are included . Click here for the link to register.

Code Wiz, located at 310 Union Ave, is an educational center that offers coding and robotics classes for children and young adults. Code Wiz Summer Camps provide an exciting, hands-on experience for kids and teens (7 – 17 yrs) eager to explore coding, game design, and technology. Whether beginners or experienced coders, campers engage in interactive projects that spark creativity and critical thinking. With expert guidance, they develop technical skills in a fun, supportive environment. They have several camps to choose from this summer, including Minecraft Innovators, Lego Game Masters, App Architects, Roblox Game Makers, Game Creation with Unity, Python Adventure Quest, Sumo Bots (Design a Robot), Robot Engineers, Build Your Own Website, etc. Click this link to register and learn more about these summer camps.

Located across Route 17 at 225 Highland Cross, Kulture Kool will offer summer camps in Theater, Cultural Immersion, Creativity, Science, Culinary, and Robotics for ages five through thirteen. This year, they will also offer a Teen Culinary Camp from August 11-15 for ages thirteen through eighteen. Click here to learn more about Kulture Kool and its summer camps.

The Rutherford Recreation Department will open registration for their Summer camps on April 2, 2025. The camps are broken into three groups: Kindergarten through Second Grade, Third through Fourth Grade, and Fifth through Eighth Grade. Click on this RecDesk link to register on April 2nd.

Backstage Performing Arts Academy located on 194 Park Avenue has several dance/ performing arts camps to choose from this summer. Camps include themed dance and musical theatre options for ages 5 and up. Click here to learn more about these camps and to register.

School of Rock located on 301 Hoboken Road in Carlstadt offers local music camps and workshops for all musicians, no matter their skill level. This summer's camps include Rock 101, Rookies Camp, The Beatles, Metal, and Rock 101- Pop Edition. Learn more and register by using this link.

Camp Invention is a camp that is offered all across the USA. The closest location to Rutherford is Lyndhurst High School, where Camp Invention will be held from July 7-11. Children enrolled in this camp will complete many hands-on, STEM activities that enable them to explore robotics, invent a mechanical claw machine, and so much more. Click here to read the full description of the camp and to register.

Camp Veritans Day Camp, accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA), has provided exciting and enriching summer experiences for children ages 3-15 for over 75 years. With transportation provided to and from our 64-acre campgrounds in Haledon, New Jersey, summer for you and your child has never been more convenient or fun. As explained in their media release, "We offer exciting camp activities that cultivate friendships, build confidence, and create lasting memories. Our tuition is inclusive of all activities and trips and includes hot lunches, snacks, and daily transportation. Our program is designed to keep children active and engaged all day with outdoor adventure courses, sports programming, daily Red Cross swim instruction, creative arts, exploration, STEM programming, unique special activities, and even dynamic trips for campers entering 2nd grade and up. Eighth and ninth graders participate in our outstanding trip and travel program. Call us to find out more! 973-956-1220." Click this link to view more about the lower (ages 3-9) and upper camps (ages 10-15) available and for registration information.

The Meadowlands YMCA located at 390 Murray Hill Parkway, has some different camps for families to choose from this summer. The Summer Seedlings camp is for ages 3-5, Jr Camp is for ages 5-7, Camp Meadowlands is for ages 8-11, Travel camp for ages 7-12, and Kinder Camp, a half day camp which will be held at Lyndhurst Middle School, for ages 5-6. Please follow this link to learn more and register.

Apogee New Jersey, a homeschool education center, is opening soon in Lyndhurst on Park Ave. This summer, they are offering several different camps. Visit their website to learn more and to register.